Question 1

Do I have to pay for a midwife?

Accepted Answer

If you are an Ontario resident with a valid Ontario Health Card midwifery care is available to you cost free similar to a doctor's care and covered by the Ministry of Health.

Question 2

Do midwives only do home births?

Accepted Answer

No. Midwives are licensed medical professionals who will respect your personal autonomy and encourage informed choice through education and discussion during your appointments. Whether you require a c-section, or choose a home birth, birthing centre, or hospital, you will be supported in your choice by your midwife.

Question 3

Can I continue to see my current OB-GYN while I am under your care?

Accepted Answer

Each pregnancy can only have one primary care provider. OB-GYNs, family doctors and midwives are all primary care providers. Once you choose midwifery care, the midwives will take over the care for your current pregnancy.
 
Midwives are experts in healthy pregnancy and normal birth. If you choose to become a client of Diversity Midwives, we will be your primary caregivers. If your particular medical circumstances require a physician’s consult, we will refer you to one of the highly qualified doctors that we have a working relationship with. 
 
Six weeks after delivery, when your midwifery care is completed, you will be transferred back to your family doctor.

Question 4

How many midwives will I see at your clinic?

Accepted Answer

At Diversity Midwives, you will be assigned a team of 3-4 midwives who work as a team to care for you throughout your pregnancy, labour and postpartum. You will have the opportunity to get to know each of your team members during your clinic appointments. At the time that you go into labour, one of your midwives will be assigned to be "on-call" for births that week. 
 
There is also a backup team of midwives assigned to you during your time at Diversity. Should, under rare circumstances, your on-call midwife be attending to a labouring mother at the time that your baby arrives, you may be seen by your backup midwife for your labour and delivery.

Question 5

Do I need a doctor's referral to see a midwife?

Accepted Answer

No referral is required for midwifery care. Simply fill out our request a midwife form and one of our lovely administrators will give you a call back within a week to discuss coming into care.

Question 6

When should I contact you to make my first appointment?

Accepted Answer

Request a midwife as soon as you know you are pregnant with an expected due date. Diversity Midwives can only accommodate a certain number of births per month. If we are already at our client limit when you are expecting you will be placed on a waiting list, should any clients move or transfer care during the course of their pregnancy.
 
If you are further along in your pregnancy, and even late in pregnancy, we still encourage you to request a midwife and accommodations will be made based if at all possible.

Question 7

How often will I see a midwife?

Accepted Answer

Prenatal midwifery care is typically scheduled every 4 weeks before 28 weeks pregnancy, every 2 weeks from 28 weeks to 36 weeks of pregnancy and every 1 week after 36 weeks until baby arrives. 
 
Once your baby has arrived the first 3 appointments postpartum will be at your home or hospital during the first 2 weeks postpartum. We will then check up on yourself and baby at 2, 4 and 6 weeks postpartum in our clinic.
 
All clinic visits are 30 minutes long with the exception being 1-1.5 hours for your first visit.
 
Longer visits allow for physical, emotional and social health assessments and allow time for informed decision making and the development of a trusting relationship between clients and their care providers.

Question 8

What is the difference between a midwife and a doula?

Accepted Answer

Doulas do not provide medical care and do not deliver babies. Midwives are trained to provide all the necessary medical care and to monitor the health and well-being of you and your baby.
 
Doulas work as a part of the team, with a midwife or doctor and nurse during labour or be a part of your postpartum care plan. Doulas provide continuous emotional, physical and practical support. For more information about doulas, please visit the Association of Ontario Doulas.

Question 9

Is the information I provide you kept confidential?

Accepted Answer

At Diversity Midwives we are committed to the privacy and protection of client information. Protecting the privacy and confidentiality of personal information is an important aspect of the way Diversity Midwives conducts its business. Collecting and using personal information in an appropriate, responsible, and ethical manner is fundamental to Diversity Midwives daily operations. Diversity Midwives strives to protect and respect the personal information of its clients and so on in accordance with all applicable laws and as outlined in our Client Consent form you will be able to review at your first booking appointment.

Frequently asked questions