Midwifery- An Integral Part of Maternal, Newborn Care at Michael Garron Hospital

Families in this community have been able to choose midwifery as an option for their maternal and newborn care since 1993. We now have 18 midwives on staff who deliver approximately 500 babies annually, with most births (70%) taking place in the hospital.

Christie Lockhart describes her role as a midwife and Chief of Midwifery at MGH as “an exceptional privilege. I am proud to be part of the leadership team here at MGH and I love working as a midwife.  We walk with women through one of the most important times in their family’s life. To be able to be there from conception to six weeks postpartum and everything in between is an extraordinary privilege and there is no other part of health care that is as exciting. It never gets old.”

Midwives spend their days attending deliveries, seeing women at clinic visits, visiting moms and babies in the hospital and community, providing breastfeeding support, weighing babies and offering advice and education. Each midwife is on call 16 days/month to ensure clients have two midwives at every delivery.

In addition, MGH midwives are part of our hospital’s full interdisciplinary team. They participate in clinical education and training, rounds, committees, and are well integrated into decision-making, which isn’t the norm at all hospitals. Christie says that “MGH has done it exceptionally well. Midwifery has a voice and is represented at all levels of decision-making. This is an awesome hospital to work for; one of the best. I feel lucky to be here.”

That’s why our hospital received the 2016 Association of Ontario Midwives Hospital Integration Award. We are fully supportive of midwives; they have a voting seat on the Medical Advisory Committee, are actively involved in decision-making and policy development, and work to their full scope of practice. Last year, we became the first hospital in Toronto and sixth in Ontario to create a Department of Midwifery separate from family practice. This required the full support of the hospital as it involved rewriting rules and regulations and hospital by-laws.

Says Christie:  “Receiving this award affirms what the midwifery group has always known; that we provide great care, MGH recognizes this and has been responsive to the needs of our community and midwives. There has been a culture of collaboration and respect from the get go.” The result is excellent access and choice for new families in east Toronto.

Building on this great foundation, MGH is committed to the continued growth of the midwifery program. “We know that high quality maternal and newborn care is the foundation for a healthy beginning and are truly delighted to have the midwifery teams as partners in ensuring service excellence to our community,” says Linda Young, Maternal, Newborn & Child Director.