About Open Door

Midwifery care respects the diversity of women’s needs and the variety of personal and cultural meanings which women, families and communities bring to pregnancy, birth, and early parenting. At Open Door Midwifery we strive to empower you with knowledge and to support the choices you make to create your pregnancy, birth and early parenting experience. You will receive personalized care, tailored to your needs and situation.

At Open Door Midwifery we work in a small team to provide a full range of primary maternity care services from conception to six weeks postpartum. Our team has been working together for several years and we share the same philosophy of care. Your prenatal visits alternate between us to enable you to form a relationship with each of us before your birth and for each midwife to get to know you, your needs and situation.

Prenatal Care

Prenatal care plays an important role in preventing and detecting anything that can arise in pregnancy and in establishing a trusting relationship with your midwives. Our prenatal visits are between 30 and 45 minutes long and include education, health promotion and clinical assessment. In addition, close attention is paid to the social, spiritual and emotional aspects of pregnancy, birth and early parenthood. When needed or requested, midwives can order the same lab tests and ultrasounds and prescribe the same medications during pregnancy and postpartum as most doctors do.

Labour and Delivery

By the time your labour begins, your midwives are aware of your wishes and plans. We will have already discussed important issues requiring your decision-making, as well as what to expect at the time of birth and during the first weeks postpartum. Commonly, you will be in touch with the on-call midwife by phone during early labour and she will arrive once your labour is active. Your midwife will stay with you following the birth for the first few hours postpartum.

Postpartum Care

Midwives provide care for you and your baby following the birth and for your first six weeks postpartum. Typically, for the first couple of weeks after your birth, we will come to your home for regular check-ups. After that, you and your baby will see us in our clinic until 6 weeks postpartum, when we would provide you with a complete copy of your records and refer you both back to your family doctor for ongoing care. It is not necessary for your baby to see a doctor or pediatrician during this time unless a significant medical concern arises, at which point we would refer you to the appropriate specialist. We remain on-call for you and your baby and you can still reach us 24hrs a day for urgent situations.

Education of Future Midwives

Open Door Midwifery is pleased to be a teaching practice affiliated with the Midwifery Education Program at the University of British Columbia and the Multijurisdictional Midwifery Bridging Program. We sometimes have student midwives training with the midwives in our practice. We enjoy and value our roles as clinical preceptors and recognize the importance of training future midwives so that one day all women who want care from a midwife will be able to have it. Feedback from clients about student involvement in their care has been very positive with much appreciation for the additional support they receive. Student midwives are always supervised by their midwife preceptors.

Lending Library

We have a small number of books and videos available for borrowing. During your care, your midwife may recommend some books which she thinks you may be interested in reading or, which may be relevant to your specific situation. If we have a particular book available for lending she will let you know. The lending period is typically from one appointment to the next.