- Midwives look after you and your baby for six weeks postpartum.
- It is recommended to have help in the home with household chores and older children so you can spend the time needed to feed your baby and rest. We honour that postpartum is a time of immense transition, bonding, and recuperation from birth.
- Midwives will visit you at your home during the first week or longer depending on your individual needs. After this you will return to clinic for the remainder of your appointments.
- We provide comprehensive breastfeeding support to help you and your baby succeed, if this is your goal. We can provide referrals to breastfeeding specialists as needed.
- We ask that you keep track of your baby’s feeding habits, input and output during the first week or so. We will monitor your baby’s weight and normal development. We may consult with a pediatrician or your family doctor if needed.
- We will monitor the mother’s normal transition through postpartum, including vital signs, bleeding, wound healing, and mood changes. We want to support both you and your baby to thrive during this sacred time.
- Midwives are able to perform and order routine newborn test such as the Newborn Screen, Critical Congenital Heart Disease Screen, bilirubin levels (for jaundice), and blood type in the case of an Rh negative mother.
- You will be discharged from midwifery care at around six weeks postpartum. At this time, a letter will be sent to your family doctor to notify them that your course of care is finished and you will now return to them for care. It would be routine to book a two-month visit for your baby to meet the family doctor and begin immunizations if you are choosing to vaccinate.
