​What is a midwife

Midwives are health care providers who specialize in caring for healthy people during their childbearing year. Midwives provide complete prenatal, labour, birth and postnatal care to healthy parents and their babies. Read more.

Midwives are the experts in caring for healthy pregnancies, and the best choice to help you achieve a vaginal birth. Midwives have all the training and skill required to care for clients from the onset of their pregnancies, throughout the birth and for the first six weeks afterwards. We also care for babies from birth to 6 weeks. As long as the client and their baby are well, there is no need to see a doctor as the midwife can provide all of the necessary care. If complications arise, The Hamilton Midwives have access to all the medical services that you may require including hospital services and consultations with obstetricians, paediatricians, anaesthetists and family doctors.Click to hide.

Midwife or doctor

Midwifery clients receive all the same routine monitoring from their midwife as people who are cared for by a family doctor or obstetrician. All the routine ultrasounds and blood tests are offered, you can have a home or hospital birth, including an epidural if you wish. Pregnant clients are seen by their midwife on the same schedule as they would see a doctor, and their babies receive all the same routine health testing and care whether they are delivered by a midwife or a doctor.

Want to learn more? See our blog post “Midwife vs Obstetrician, which suits you best?”

Our Midwives

Practitioners of The Hamilton Midwives bring many years of clinical expertise and various life experiences that enhance their work with our clients. They all share a respect for childbearing people and the variety of meanings that childbirth has for families. 

All the Midwives speak English, and we are able to provide some care in Arabic, French, Farsi (Persian) and Armenian (western dialect) although we cannot guarantee care in these languages. One of our midwives has basic Somali.

Please see “Our Team” to learn more about us as individuals.

Our philosophy

Midwives see pregnancy, birth and early parenthood as a normal part of a person’s life that requires some extra support, guidance, and care. We know that most expectant people will have a normal pregnancy, birth and a healthy baby, but as health care providers, we are continually assessing our clients for signs of complications and are prepared for any emergencies that may arise. We provide care that is tailored to each individual client.

The way we care for our clients is based on 3 principles that guiding principles:

1. Informed choice. You are the main decision maker for your health care choices and for your baby’s wellbeing. Our job is to help you make good decisions by giving you information and guidance. Read more.

   We will use our clinical skills and knowledge as well as the latest research and guidelines to help you make choices throughout your course of care. Choices include things like which blood tests to have or opt out of, whether to wait for labour to start or to plan an induction, what kind of birth you would like to have and what medications to give your baby. We respect each client’s right to make the choices that are best for them and their family within the context of their own situation. Click to hide.

2. Continuity of care. We take the time to get to know each other. Our clients develop a relationship of trust with their midwives thanks to 30-60 minute appointments, and by receiving care from a small number of midwives. Read more.

   Clients want to know who will be attending their births and The Hamilton Midwives boast a 95% continuity of care in labour rate. That means that when you are birthing, you should have at least one midwife that is known to you look after you for all or part of the time. Client satisfaction, midwife job satisfaction and patient safety are all improved when there is continuity of care. Click to hide.

3. Choice of birthplace. The Hamilton Midwives deliver babies at St Joseph Healthcare Hamilton (Charlton campus) right across the street from our office. We also provide birth care in the homes of our clients.

Postpartum and Newborn care

Our model of continuing care with our clients for 6 weeks after the birth as well as providing care to their newborns sets midwifery apart. Our postpartum follow up is one of the aspects of our care that our clients most appreciate. We care for new parents and their babies for the first 6 weeks of life and each time the baby gets a check-up, their parent gets one too. We see our clients in the comfort of their own homes 3-5 times in the first 10 days to 2 weeks and in our clinic after that. Home visits save time and decrease stress as there is no need to worry about getting out to the doctor(s) when you could be home resting instead.

Our postnatal visits focus on:

1. The physical and emotional health of the parent to ensure that they are healing well from the birth and adjusting to new parenthood. We share lots of information and tips on how to care for yourself and your baby.
2. The health of the baby, including making sure that s/he is feeding and growing and that there are no signs of illness.
3. Breastfeeding and chestfeeding support if you are feeding baby your milk.
4. Safe formula storage, preparation and feeding if baby drinks formula.

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Fees

Midwifery care is free for anyone who resides in Ontario. You don’t need to be a Canadian citizen and you don’t even need a health card (OHIP). Read more.

Of course we all contribute to health care costs in Ontario with our tax dollars, but there is no out of pocket cost to access the specialized care of a midwife. If you are unsure if you qualify for free midwifery care, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to let you know. We frequently work with new-comers and refugees. Click to hide.

If you do not have OHIP

There is no cost to you for midwifery care. Also, the government of Ontario has a special program for midwifery clients without OHIP to access most ultrasounds, blood work and consultations with a physician for free. If you choose to have a midwife, the only out of pocket expense you’ll usually pay is for the hospital stay if you need to or chose to deliver there. Read more.

If you chose a doctor to care for you during your pregnancy and you don’t have OHIP, UHIP or Interim Federal Health coverage, you will have to pay for the doctor’s care as well as pay for your ultrasounds and blood tests. Prices for this vary. With a midwife, it is all covered. This may sound too good to be true but Registered Midwives in Ontario have been chosen to improve access to health care for people who traditionally have barriers to accessing care. Click to hide.

Catchment area

Because our services include home visits, we restrict the geographic area that we serve, to Hamilton and the surrounding areas. We serve client in all neighbourhoods and areas of Hamilton including, Ancaster, Dundas, Stoney Creek, Hannon and Mount Hope. We also serve Waterdown, Winona, Flamborough, Caledonia, Binbrook, St George, Brantford, Burlington, and surrounding areas in southern Ontario. Please​ email or call to ask if your home is in our catchment area.

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