South Community Birth Program - Vancouver BC midwife - Doula
ABOUT US
The South Community Birth Program (SCBP) was established in October 2003 to pilot a unique maternity program to be situated in the South Community area of Vancouver, British Columbia. At BC Women’s hospital, the Head of Family Practice, Sue Harris, and the Head of Midwifery, Lee Saxell, applied for funding through the Federal Government Primary Care Transition Funds (administered by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, and the Provincial Services Health Authority/B.C. Women’s Hospital). The goal of the SCBP is to improve the health outcomes of low-risk pregnant women in the underserved community of South Vancouver, by providing them with collaborative, multidisciplinary care from family physicians, midwives, community health nurses, and doulas. This is the first such multidisciplinary program of its kind in Canada. Care takes place in a community-based, culturally-appropriate, and woman-centered manner during pregnancy, birth and the newborn period.
The SCBP opened in December of 2003, and the first woman to enroll in the program gave birth in April 2004. At the South Community Health Centre on Knight Street, a space was remodeled to provide a home for the program. SCBP has now expanded into a new, larger space on Fraser Street that includes a large room for Centering Pregnancy (CP) group meetings and two examination rooms. Members of the SCBP team (community health nurses, midwives, family physicians, and doulas) provide care and support for women at this site on an individual basis or in CP groups. The program also established a multidisciplinary education and research center for current and future health care professionals focusing on healthy pregnancy and birth. An electronic medical record was established to improve continuity and communication and facilitate quality improvement.
The goal of the SCBP is to bring pregnancy and birth back to a community-based, peer-supported, primary care experience. More specific goals include improving the health outcomes of women and their families by;
- Developing an environment where the SCBP team and families work in partnership to meet the needs of childbearing women in their community.
- Developing an environment where the SCBP team assists women and their families to identify their own strengths and build confidence in their ability to give birth and become parents.
- Developing an environment that encourages women and their families to assume an active role in their own primary health care.
- Developing a strong sense of peer support among the women and their families, helping them to build community, reduce isolation, and provide ongoing support for each other when their care at SCBP is complete.
- Providing a safe, positive birth experience through the reduction of interventions.
- Providing support following the birth so that women can have a shortened hospital stay.
Feedback from families, care providers and students, as well as early evaluation of the outcome data suggests that;
- Women and their families can play an active role in their care. Through education they are given the tools and skills to empower them in their pregnancy, birth and after the arrival of their baby. More than half of the women now receive care through the Centering Pregnancy (CP) program, which includes medical assessment, education and peer support. Early data suggests that the women and their partners find this a highly effective and satisfying way to receive care.
- Targets for reducing interventions, including lowering of cesarean section rates, shortening of length of hospital stay, and improved breastfeeding rates are being met. Evaluation to confirm these outcomes is ongoing.
- A collaborative team of nurses, physicians, midwives and doulas can successfully develop a unique approach to care. Practice guidelines have been established by the group and there is regular opportunity for evaluation and improvement.
- Multidisciplinary students are being mentored through the program and although the numbers to date are still small, early feedback has been very positive.
- Use of OSCAR (the electronic medical record) allows efficient and effective communication among providers and greatly enhances the multidisciplinary teams’ ability to plan client care. In addition, outcomes can be tracked on a day to day basis, which enables regular review and improvement of practice.
Families at the Center:
- The South Community Birth Program has been granted charitable status
through our associated foundation known as Families at the Center. Donations
to help support the program can be made through this charitable foundation,
and will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Donations will be gratefully
received either by drop-off at the South Community Birth Program's clinic
location, or via mail at the Families at the Center mailing address:
Families at the Center
#201 - 5838 Fraser St
Vancouver, BC
V5W 2Z5
The South Community Birth Program is a joint project sponsored by:
Vancouver Community -
South Community Health Office
Provincial Health Services Authority