(905) 527-8919 -- 189 Hughson Street South, Hamilton, ON L8N 2B6 -- info@hamiltonmidwives.ca
(905) 527-8919 -- 189 Hughson Street South, Hamilton, ON L8N 2B6 -- info@hamiltonmidwives.ca
Midwifery care is based on the principles of informed choice, continuity of care, and choice of birthplace. We work with women and their families to make shared decisions about their care. Midwifery care is a unique and wonderful maternity care option that may be right for you!
The Hamilton Midwives is located in downtown Hamilton. We attend births in the home and in hospitals in Hamilton. Read on for more information.
The World Health Organization says:
“A midwife is a person who, having been regularly admitted to a midwifery education program, duly recognized in a country in which it is located, has successfully completed the prescribed course of studies in midwifery and has acquired the requisite qualifications to be registered and/or legally licensed to practice midwifery. She must be able to give the necessary supervision, care and advice to women during pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period, to conduct deliveries on her own responsibility and to care for the newborn infant. This care includes preventive measures, the detection of abnormal conditions in mother and child, the procurement of medical assistance and the execution of emergency measures in the absence of medical help. She has an important task in health counseling and education, not only for the patients, but also within the family and community. The work should involve antenatal education and preparation for parenthood and extends to certain areas of gynecology, family planning and childcare. She may practice in hospitals, clinics, health units, domiciliary conditions, or in any other service.”
Midwives qualify for registration by graduating from the Ontario Midwifery Education Program, a four-year university degree program. Foreign trained midwives complete the International Midwifery Pre-registration Program at Ryerson University.
Midwives must be registered by the College of Midwives of Ontario, which sets standards and educations requirements. All midwives in The Hamilton Midwives are registered and follow the standards established by the College of Midwives.
All midwifery services are free to residents of Ontario.
Prenatal care protects the health of both you and your unborn baby. It offers you the possibility of learning about the changes in your body as pregnancy advances.
In general, our care begins with an extensive interview so that we get to know you, your plans, any concerns and your health history. During the next few visits, we will do a general physical assessment and obtain needed lab assessments such as blood tests. At future visits, we monitor your blood pressure, weight gain, and your baby’s growth, heart rate and position.
As is usual in Ontario maternity care, we expect to see pregnant women approximately once a month until the 28th week, every second week until the 36th week and then weekly until the baby is born. Most appointments are 30 to 45 minutes in length. You will be offered one home visit toward the end of your pregnancy.
If you have seen another care provider for part of your prenatal care, it is very important that we receive copies of your health records. We will ask you to sign a release of information to obtain your records and any lab results.
Midwives provide total care to women who experience healthy, normal pregnancies. If you develop obstetric problems or have a medical condition, your midwife may consult with a doctor for advice or ongoing care.
Although we are responsible for you and your baby until 6 weeks after the birth, we will encourage you to telephone or visit your doctor to discuss arrangements for future baby care. This planning visit ensures that there is ongoing communication and coordination of visits during the early weeks after baby arrives.
We attend births at St. Joseph’s Health Care (SJH) and the Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS). However, The Hamilton Midwives do most of our hospital births at SJH. If you plan to deliver in the hospital, we recommend that you register for a tour of the labour and delivery unit. We will provide you with a pre-registration package for the hospital and a number to call to arrange for your tour.
If you are planning a homebirth, we will supply you with some items and we will give you a list of supplies to have on hand. We will also talk to you about the reasons for moving from home to hospital and how that would be done.
During early labour, a midwife will be in contact with you over the phone and will attend you once active labour is established. During active labour, the midwife will check your vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, and temperature), assess the dilation of your cervix, monitor labour contractions and the baby’s heart rate, assist with breathing techniques and positioning, deliver the baby and placenta, examine the newborn infant, and check all aspects of the mother’s condition after the birth.
One midwife is with you during active labour and a second midwife will be called closer to the birth of your baby. Midwives provide skilled support during labour and suggestions for pain relief. However, we cannot replace the important support provided by your partner, close friends or other family members. We also encourage you to take prenatal classes during your pregnancy, and to consider the services of a labour support person, or doula.
After the birth, whether in a hospital or at home, we will monitor the condition of both you and your baby for the first hours. We will help you breastfeed and provide information and guidance for your care during the early days after the birth. If you give birth in the hospital and all is well, you may leave to go home within 3-4 hours or stay longer, depending on your needs. The arrangements are flexible and will be organized to meet your needs as best as possible.
We will visit you during the postpartum period to check on you and the baby, answer questions and assist with breastfeeding and other aspects of infant and self care. We usually see women and their babies on days 1, 3, 5, and between 7-10 at home, and weeks 2, 4 and 6 at the clinic.
The final visit usually takes place at 6 weeks and is booked in the clinic so that a final physical assessment of both you and your baby can be done. A summary of your pregnancy, birth and early postpartum period will be sent to your family doctor at the conclusion of our services.
You will be assigned a team of two primary midwives. You will meet one, usually the coordinating midwife, at your first clinic visits. After that, your visits will be shared by the two midwives of your team. This gives you an opportunity to meet both of them and to develop a relationship with them. You will also have a back-up team of two midwives, both of whom you will meet at least once during prenatal care. Your midwives will alternately be on call (attending births) or off call (in clinic). When you are in labour, it is our aim that you will be attended by one of your primary midwives until your baby is close to being born, at which time one of your back-up midwives will also attend you. This may not always be possible due to various factors, including busy times, when several labours are happening at the same time.
The individual midwives within our practice bring many years of experience in different settings to the practice. We share a respect for childbearing women and the variety of meanings that childbirth has for families. Your midwives will be pleased to discuss their individual education and background with you.
Midwives are available by pager at all times for urgent problems and for labour and birth. All of the midwives and our students use a common answering service that is staffed 24 hours a day. Occasionally pagers don’t work and if you have not had a reply in 15 minutes to an urgent request, please call the paging service again. When individual midwives have their off-call time, we will forward their pages to a partner midwife so you will always reach one of us.
If your question is non-urgent or concerns a clinic appointment, please call the office during business hours, or leave a message on the voice mail. Our phone numbers are listed on our Directions and Contact Us page.
Because our model of practice includes home visits and the possibility of attending your labour at home, we restrict the geographic area that we can serve. The general boundaries of our area are central Oakville on the east, Highway 401 to the north, Grimsby in the Niagara peninsula and Brantford to the west.
The Hamilton Midwives is a teaching practice that includes trained midwives and midwifery students from the Midwifery Education Programs of McMaster, Laurentian and Ryerson Polytechnic Universities.
Students are present for most of the year and must participate in all aspects of client care. Students at the second and third year level conduct births as well as provide prenatal and postnatal care.
We are committed to ensuring that the quality of care we provide is improved by the presence of students. We encourage clients to be teachers of our students by giving them and us feedback at all times. Students are always supervised according to their level in the program.
We believe that women and their families should be active participants in their care by gaining knowledge about pregnancy, birth and parenting. This enables parents to make the best decisions about their own care and that of their babies. We are available to answer questions, but cannot be the only source of your learning about the many aspects of childbearing that are of importance.
You are welcome to borrow books, articles, videos and pamphlets from our shelves. We also welcome contributions of resources that you find particularly useful. We encourage you to bring your questions or concerns to your visits; making a written list is often helpful. In order for us to be effective caregivers, it is important for you to keep us informed of problems or situations that may affect your care.
One of the most important decisions that parents must make is the location of birth. Parents are responsible for becoming as informed as possible, for weighing the various benefits and risks and making a decision that is appropriate for them. If your pregnancy is low risk, you may choose to have your baby either at home or in the hospital, and we will provide full midwifery care in either setting. We support the choice of planned home birth as an option for healthy mothers. There is a lot of research that supports the safety of home birth. Also, women who have had home births report increased satisfaction and control of their birth experience.
Comprehensive prenatal care and careful monitoring in labour by a known caregiver are important factors in preventing, detecting and managing any complications which might arise. However, difficulties can occur during labour and birth. If this occurs, we will consult with a doctor. From time to time, women who choose to have babies at home may have to move to hospital. We can provide you with information about some of the complications which may arise and how we manage them.
You are free to review your midwifery records at any time. If you go out of town for a vacation or on business, we will supply a copy of your records to carry with you. Often, we will ask you to carry a copy of your records during the last month of pregnancy so that if you require a hospital visit you will have readily accessible information. At your final postpartum visit, you may request a copy of your records to keep. We will retain the original in our files. Your records are kept in a locked area and are only accessible to members of the practice. We respect each client’s right to complete confidentiality.
We hope that this information has helped you to understand our care and to think of additional questions you may have. We urge you to consider this information carefully before making your final decision about choosing midwifery care.