Gynecologists and obstetricians want to take a closer look at the issue, both in Alberta and across the country. They want to determine whether Ottawa and the provinces need to take a tougher stance on him.
This week, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) made it a key topic at a conference in Banff, Alberta.
We’re going to start looking at some provincial and federal discussions, because this is an issue where the benefit is provincial, but the immigration is federal, and in most cases they don’t talk to each other
says Dr. Douglas Wilson, President of the SOGC and Professor Emeritus at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary.
A key concern, he says, is ensuring safe care, as many of these patients have other health conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension.
« If you don’t have the chance to monitor these women before and they come to you at the end, there is a risk of a much more complicated delivery. »
Obstetrician-gynecologist Colin Birch co-authored a recent study on birth tourism in Calgary. I think we have to fix that. We have to decide how we’re going to approach this
he says.
The retrospective analysis looked at 102 women between July 2019 and November 2020 and revealed that 77% of patients want to take advantage of the system of automatically granting citizenship to anyone born in Canada.
Dr. Colin Birch, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Calgary, believes that birth tourism must be tackled.
Photo: Cumming School of Medicine
Alberta’s healthcare system, like others across the country, is under intense pressure and this has doctors wondering about the impacts of this trend, says Dr. Colin Birch. In the health care system as it is now, we don’t have the space to accommodate these people.
The Government of Alberta concerned
Data provided by Alberta Health shows that the number of non-residents who gave birth in the province more than tripled, from 83 to 287, between fiscal years 2010-2011 and 2015-2016.
The numbers dipped slightly thereafter and the most recent data shows 256 non-residents gave birth in 2020-21 and 245 in 2021-22.
In most cases, natural-born tourists are patients who have access to quality health care in their country of origin and are not vulnerable people, refugees or asylum seekers.
Alberta Health spokesman Andrew Livingstone said in a statement.
The number of non-residents giving birth in Alberta more than tripled between 2010 and 2016.
Photo : Shutterstock
According to Andrew Livingstone, emergency health care will always be provided whether or not a person has health coverage in Alberta. However, if a person does not have health insurance in Alberta, all costs of care provided are their responsibility.
In some cases, in birth tourism situations, the cost of hospital care for the mother and newborn remains unpaid. We are currently reviewing a number of options to address these circumstances and recover health care costs.
Dr. Colin Birch’s study reveals that unpaid charges to Alberta Health Services for a 16-month period amounted to almost $700,000. The province believes it is too early to share details on the options being considered.
With files from Jennifer Lee