How to Choose Your O.B. in Toronto
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You’ve found out you’re pregnant! All the emotions and to do lists have started flooding your brain and body and it likely feels immense.
Step one
BREATHE.
This is going to help you (and your baby) now and forevermore. This time of your life is full on. It’s a rollercoaster from day one and breathing deeply is your friend. Before you do anything else, take a moment to pause and inhale and exhale deeply. You’ve got this.
Step two
Start looking for the right care provider for you.
If you’re looking for a midwife in Toronto, you’ll want to start investigating ASAP - check out this post to start the search for the best midwife for you.
If you’re looking for an O.B. or a Family Medicine practitioner start to consider the questions in step three.
Step three
Start to ask yourself these 5 questions:
1. Is my pregnancy considered “high risk” or “low risk”? What options for care providers does that leave me with?
“High risk” pregnancies means that there is something of note, with the pregnant person, the baby (ies) or with all parties, that requires a bit of extra care. This term encompasses a whole range - it may be that you’re carrying multiple babies (twins, triplets), or something was noted on your initial scans about your placenta, uterus, or baby’s development. You might also have pre-existing health conditions that require extra support during pregnancy and/or birth.
Midwives generally support low risk pregnancies and offer the option of hospital (the one they have privileges at), home or The Toronto Birth Centre, as a place to birth. It’s worth noting, that you can be under midwifery care and become “high risk,” in which case your care may be shared with your midwives and an O.B. or your midwives might consult with an O.B., as your pregnancy and birth unfold.
Family medicine team practitioners generally support “low risk” pregnancies but solely work out of the hospital that they’re affiliated with. They consult with O.B.s as needed.
O.B.s support high and low risk pregnancies, and solely support births out of the hospital that they have affiliations with.
If you’re labelled “high risk” from the get go, you’ll very likely be referred to an O.B. and potentially an O.B. that is a “high risk” O.B. For example, if you’re pregnant with triplets you may be referred to (or seek out) an O.B. that specializes in multiple births. This might determine the hospital that you’ll be birthing at - most high risk specialists work out of Sunnybrook Hospital or Mt Sinai Hospital
An important note - the term “high risk” can be anxiety provoking. If you do find yourself given this label, I highly suggest exploring the support of a doula or a person that specializes in perinatal mental health. Of course, these extra supports are amazing for any pregnancy.
2. Where might I want to birth?
There are many hospitals that support the birthing process. All of these hospitals will have O.B.s and some will also have a Family Medicine team associated with them. The Midwifery clinics in Toronto each have their own hospital that they work out of.
This might be the first question you ask yourself, as your choice of care provider will be restricted by who is associated with, and who has availability at, the hospital where you’re interested in birthing.
Please note - if you’re thinking about birthing at The Toronto Birth Centre, you will have to explore midwifery care.
You can read more about the details, which includes links to virtual tours, of each facility in this post.
3. Will the hospital or your doctor’s clinic be convenient for prenatal and postpartum visits?
To begin with, you won’t have many prenatal visits (monthly) with your care provider. However, you will soon move to bi-monthly visits, and near the end of your pregnancy, weekly visits.
A major benefit of immediate postpartum care with a Family Medicine team, is that your postpartum care (for you and baby) extends until 6 weeks! Getting out with a baby in tow is not the easiest thing to do, so considering the convenience of the clinic is a good idea.
If you choose to work with an O.B. you will have one postpartum visit around 6 weeks post birth. Your visits for your baby will take place with a family doctor or with a pediatrician.
Of course, you’ll want to take note of the location of the hospital in relation to your home, for when it’s time to actually birth your baby! Consider the length of time of getting there during all points of the day - getting across the city takes no time at all during the early morning or the middle of the night. Rush hour is another story.
4. Do I like this practitioner?
Before you commit to your care provider, you may want to connect with a few O.B.s or Family Medicine Practitioners to see who you gel with. While you’re not guaranteed (in most cases it’s actually unlikely) that your O.B. will be at your birth, you will be seeing them a lot during your pregnancy. It’s really worth finding someone that you feel comfortable with.
The Family Medicine model of care often allows you to meet the whole team. Through your pregnancy you’ll primarily see one provider, with potentially some appointments with other members of the team. At your birth you’re certain to have one member of the team.
5. Do I like this hospital or the Birth Centre?
Getting a feel of a space is important before embarking on a big event like birthing your baby there. You can book a tour of some hospital’s labour and delivery wards but not all - some hospital’s stipulate that you must be enrolled in one of their childbirth education classes to access a tour of the ward. Many now offer a virtual tour on their website.
Due to Covid-19, hospital tours are on hold. However, it’s still a great idea to browse each hospital’s webpage and take the virtual tour of the labour and delivery floor. We’ve included links to each hospital’s virtual tours in this post.
Step four
Apply for support.
For most O.B.s and Family Medicine Practitioners, you’ll need to get a referral from your current family doctor. Availability is not guaranteed, so you may be referred to multiple care providers.
Good luck on your search!
✨ O.B.s and doulas work wonders together. ✨ Get in touch if you’re looking for doula support. ✨
We offer a wide range of support services for families, including:
Prenatal and Postpartum yoga and movement
Please get in touch to learn more about any of our support services.