#IamMGH - Meet Dr. Brenda Woods

#IamMGH tells the stories of our people. In honour of International Women’s Day (March 8), meet Dr. Brenda Woods, consultant, obstetrics and gynecology at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH). Dr. Woods was the first female ob-gyn to be hired at MGH and the hospital's first female Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medical Co-Director of Maternal Health.

“I graduated from medical school at McGill University in 1978. At the time, there were very few women studying medicine and, in particular, obstetrics and gynecology. It was a very male-dominated and, unfortunately, misogynistic field. I remember completing a clerkship at a hospital in Montreal where the examination table faced a window without curtains. This meant ob-gyn patients were exposed during their appointments. Many of the patients at this particular hospital were newcomers to Canada who had limited knowledge of English. This made the situation and power dynamics between them and the mostly male ob-gyns even worse.

I remember thinking ‘this is horrible’ and that it shouldn’t be like this. I thought about how it might be different if there were more women ob-gyns looking after these patients. Eventually, I also met a mentor in the field who helped further my passion for obstetrics and gynecology. This led me to become the first female ob-gyn at MGH, or Toronto East General Hospital as it was called at the time, in 1986. I remember it was a small team: just six gentlemen and myself. During my 30-plus years at MGH, I’ve also held leadership positions such as the Chair of Medical Education; Chair of Pharmacy and Therapeutics; Secretary, Vice-President and President of the Medical Staff Association; and then Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medical Co-Director of Maternal Health from 2003 to 2009.

I love my job because I’m able to develop such close relationships with my patients. Being an ob-gyn is unique in that you get to spend nine months with someone and then help them bring life into this world. In fact, some of the babies I’ve delivered are now having children of their own and I’m helping to deliver them. It’s a wonderful experience. And I’m happy to see that, over the years, more and more women are pursuing careers in obstetrics and gynecology. I think governments and medical schools are increasingly realizing that we need more women in medicine. We help contribute to a high quality of care and it’s great to see more of us in the field.

I’m proud of what I’ve been able to achieve at MGH. I think our Family Birthing Centre is very oriented towards our patients’ needs. I’ve worked in larger hospitals doing residencies and training, but there’s a warm sense of community at MGH that stands out to me and makes it different from other institutions.  All our staff and physicians say hi to one another and seem to know each other. We have patients who were born here and had their children here. And I’ve even heard some patients say ‘I’ll only go to Michael Garron Hospital’ because their whole family has come here. That’s an amazing feeling.”

Click the images below to see Dr. Woods at MGH over the years.