South Community Birth Program - Vancouver BC midwife - Doula
WHAT MAKES OUR CARE DIFFERENT?
Collaborative Team Approach
You will be cared for and supported by the SCBP team of family doctors, midwives, nurses and doulas. Approximately six-weeks after your baby is born, you will be discharged back to your family physician. If you do not have a family physician, we will help you to find one to care for you and your baby after you leave SCBP.
The six family doctors and midwives all share the same philosophy of care and strive to keep birth normal. We work hard to provide you with a seamless transition from one on-call provider to the next. SCBP is the only program in Canada where midwives and family doctors work collaboratively and fully share the care of women and their families.
You will receive your care from both doctors and midwives throughout your pregnancy, during your labour and birth, and after the baby arrives. When you go into labour, either a doctor or midwife will be on call and be present throughout your labour and when your baby is born. We rotate our call and one of us is available to address your concerns and attend you in labour 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We strive to return all of our pages within 15 minutes.
Our SCBP nurse and breastfeeding specialist, Lori Wolfe, is very involved in your care postpartum, helping you establish breastfeeding. Lori has a large supply of breast pumps for loaning out if needed. Lori also runs a Wednesday afternoon postpartum drop-in clinic from 12:00 to 2:00, where each week a different topic is discussed. These clinics are designed to help you adjust to your exciting new life as a parent. The list of topics is posted in our CP room. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Click here to learn more about our team...
Centering Pregnancy Group Prenatal Care
Your first few appointments are done one-on-one with a doctor or midwife, where all testing and physical exams are completed. Around 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy, you will be invited to join a Centering Pregnancy (CP) group with approximately ten other women or couples who are due to have their baby the same month as you. Each group is facilitated by a doctor or midwife, alongside our doula coordinator, Jalana, or our nurse, Lori. The CP groups are 9 to 10 regular two-hour sessions which run throughout your pregnancy and after the baby arrives. They are initially held once a month then every two weeks. At each group session, you will have a few minutes ("3 minute belly check") with the doctor/midwife for a mom and baby check up. If there are complications requiring a private one-on-one visit, this is booked outside the CP group. Along with the other members of your group, you will learn about important issues related to pregnancy and birth such as: nutrition and exercise during pregnancy, back care from a physiotherapist, relaxation and comfort measures for labour, the birthing process, what to expect in the hospital, pain management options, breastfeeding and infant care, plus several DVDs on birth and babies. The group setting allows you more time to ask questions, discuss concerns and to get to know your doctor or midwife. It is also a great opportunity to meet other pregnant women, make friends and share ideas.
If you choose not to attend the CP group, you will continue your care one-on-one throughout your pregnancy with a doctor and/or midwife.
Click here to learn more about our prenatal groups...
Preparation for Birth Workshop
Jalana, our doula coordinator, offers a "Preparation for Birth" workshop at SCBP for those families not attending CP groups. This is held in one-day (6 hours) at SCBP. Details are posted in the CP room.
Meet the Team Night
At SCBP you will get to know your CP leaders very well as the majority of your prenatal care will be done by the doctor or midwife that leads your group. This continuity is very good for your care, as the provider will know your history and birth plan very well. Your history and plans for birth are communicated to all of the doctors and midwives who may be on-call to attend you in labour. While we all share the same philosophy of care, we know that it is important to see a familiar face in labour. In order to make you more comfortable with our team we hold "Meet the Team" events.
For example, if your due date is in March, you are invited to attend this event in January. All of the SCBP team who are not at a birth will attend: the doctors and midwives, our nurse Lori, our doula coordinator Jalana, as well as some of our doulas. You join a small group and we "speed date" around the room. A doctor and a midwife will sit with your group and when the bell rings, we move to the next group. The next "date" to join you may be our nurse, or a few of our doulas. You can ask us any questions you want as we pass by.
It is a fun event held every 6-8 weeks at the SCBP clinic from 5:30 to 7:00. You will receive an invitation to attend when your due date is coming up. Light refreshments are served.
Doula Care
A doula provides you with continuous one-on-one physical and emotional support during labour and birth as well as after your baby arrives. The doula does not provide clinical care nor does she take the place of your partner during the labour. She works with your partner and family members during the birth to ensure that your physical and emotional needs are met. All of our doulas have a "bag of tricks" that may include massage oil and massage tools, and a TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) machine to help you during your labour.
Every effort is made to match you with a doula that speaks your first language. Currently we have 32 doulas and 20 language groups, including Punjabi, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Indonesian, Tamil, Bengali, Japanese, Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Czech, German, Slovak, Spanish, French, Italian, Mandarin, Cantonese, and American Sign Language.
They work together as a team to meet the individual needs of the women at SCBP and to provide back-up and support to each other when needed. They are all proud to be a part of this unique program and we are lucky to have them!
The SCBP provides doula support at no cost to you. The doulas receive a small honorarium from the SCBP. It is our goal to continue to increase this honorarium and we gratefully accept donations to our doula program through our charitable foundation, Families at the Centre.
What do clients say?
"This is the only way I can imagine going through labour, pregnancy, and childbirth. I truly loved the whole experience and wish that everybody could have access to this type of program."
Click here to see what our past clients have had to say about the program...