President of the Alberta Association of Midwives, Jane Baker has reported that the rising shortfall in the number of registered midwives in Alberta is giving way to the appointment of ‘traditional birth attendants', the non-licensed professionals, by pregnant ladies in the area.

As per the calculations of the group, only 50 registered midwives are available in the province at present.

Baker explained that the unlicensed professionals cost around $3,500 for the services. The services cannot be considered safe and risk-free.

"It's just I would really like them to consider their safety and the safety of their children”, she said.

The Association’s responsibility of registering as well as funding the midwives also involves the investigation of the unlicensed midwives.

The standard qualification required for the profession is a four-year university degree.

Baker announced that Alberta will grant more licenses next year, wherein each midwife would be allowed to perform not more than 40 courses of care in a year.

However, she expressed her concern over the lack of proper skills that are required for winning a license, in a majority of the aspirants of this profession.