A fourth-year UBC student midwife is asking for Bowen Island crafters’ help.
“Currently the midwives of B.C. are desperately short of personal protective equipment; including face masks, hand sanitizer and antimicrobial wipes,” wrote Erika Mitchell on Facebook.
“Midwives are primary health care providers that care for pregnant people and newborn babies. We visit people at home before they have their babies and up to six weeks after delivery. We attend home births and hospital births. As COVID-19 has sent people into self-isolation the midwives still need to see their patients, attend them in labour and visit them in their homes,” said Mitchell.
“Currently, they are running out the equipment to perform these tasks safely.”
Mitchell is asking for help making fabric masks for midwives who have to provide their own protective equipment.
“I have a large fabric stash that I can offer to people who want to make the masks to be donated to the North Shore Midwives. If we are able to get a surplus we will also offer them to the North Shore Maternity Care Clinic and North Shore OB’s,” she said.
Mitchell provides a link to a recommended pattern, though notes there are more patterns available online. See: instructables.com/id/AB-Mask-for-a-Nurse-by-a-Nurse/
“This is for a two layer fabric mask, if possible we are trying to make a two-layer mask with a pocket in between for disposable filters to increase safety,” said Mitchell. “Having said that, the two layer masks are better than the nothing we currently have.”
“Anyone who would like to make masks and needs fabric can text or call me at 604-836-7970,” she said.
“These items are so desperately needed and will provide a lot of physical protection for these care providers as well as providing them a sense of the community support behind them.”
