Collaborative care and professional boundaries: maternity care in Canada1

Abstract

This chapter analyses the collaborative work and professional boundaries in maternity care, focusing on Canada and exploring the significance of institutional contexts that shape the opportunities for social inclusion and collaboration across macro and meso levels of governance. This case, specifically on the province of Ontario, is particularly interesting in light of the relative newness of the midwifery profession to the maternity care division of labour, the rapid changes occurring in maternity care human resources and extensive political and financial support that presently exists for collaborative initiatives in Canada.