How to Find a Midwife in Toronto
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 right away.
If you’re looking for a midwife in Toronto, you’ll want to start investigating ASAP - continue reading first, but as soon as you’ve figured out your trajectory, get on the search. The demand for midwives across Toronto is high and unfortunately, there are a limited number of them.
Step three: Explore the midwifery clinics in Toronto (find the collected information, including where each midwife has privileges here) and think about these things:
Where might you want to birth?
With any midwifery practice, you can choose to birth at home, The Toronto Birth Centre, or at a hospital.
You have the ability to explore all these options as you move through your pregnancy. The wonderful thing about midwives, is that the plan can change during labour - for example, you might have planned to go to the Birth Centre but in the end decide to stay home, because you’re feeling great there. Alternatively, you might suddenly feel that the hospital is the right place for you. With midwives, you’re medically supported and safe in whichever scenario unfolds.
When searching for a midwife, it’s worth noting that midwifery clinics each have a hospital that they have “privileges” at. This means that if you are looking to birth at a hospital, you will want to be familiar with the one the practice is associated with. It’s great to mentally note, that if you are considering birthing at The Toronto Birth Centre or at home, there are medically indicated reasons why a hospital birth could come into the equation. With that said, it’s a great idea to think through the location of the hospital in relation to your home, as well as your feelings towards that particular hospital.
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. You can always book a tour of The Toronto Birth Centre.
We’ve got a list of each hospital here, which includes links to virtual tours!
What area of the city do you live in? Will the clinic be convenient for your prenatal and postpartum visits?
The catchment areas of the Toronto midwifery clinics are broad - the clinics in the East end often serve people north and west, and vice versa. However, you do want to consider the location of the clinic in relation to your home and your place of work.
To begin with, you won’t have many visits (monthly), but 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 midwives, is that your midwives come to your home! Generally, the home visits fall on day 1, 3 and 5 of baby’s life. You’ll then go into the clinic for your subsequent visits, which span across the first six weeks postpartum.
(Potentially) connect with a few midwifes to see who you gel with.
If you hear back from a couple midwifery clinics, you might have the option of meeting with a midwife from each clinic before landing on your decision. While most clinics have similar models of care, you’ll be seeing a lot of your midwife and you want to feel like you trust them and feel comfortable with them. Of course, this might not be an option due to scheduling and availability.
Whichever clinic you end up working with, you’ll get to know your primary midwife, a secondary midwife, and potentially other midwives from the team, along your prenatal journey.
Step four: Apply for midwifery support.
All of the Toronto based midwifery clinics have a submission form that you can access from their website. They’re very clear and easy to use. You should get a response as to whether you’ve gotten a spot and with which midwife you’ll be meeting, or whether you’re being placed on a waiting list.
Good luck on your search!
✨ Midwives 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.