There are times when a client planning to delivery in St. Thomas or at home may have an appointment or need to be assessed or have their baby at Victoria Hospital. Some examples are preterm labour prior to 34 weeks or complications with the pregnancy that requires a higher level of care.

Victoria Hospital is located at:

800 Commissioners Rd E 
London, Ontario 
N6A 5W9

Telephone: 519-685-8500

Labour and delivery is located in Zone B on the 4th floor.

Midwives have many roles when on call and taking pages, even if it is daytime. We may be sleeping following being up all night,  dealing with an emergency, or delivering a baby. For this reason, we ask that you please reserve paging for EMERGENCIES ONLY.

PLEASE CALL THE OFFICE ABOUT THE FOLLOWING 519-637-2224

If it is time sensitive, please indicate that in your message, otherwise Lynda will return your call or have a midwife return your call within 48hrs

• Changing or confirming an appointment
• Inquiring when a midwife will be doing a homevisit
• Reviewing blood work or ultrasound results
• General questions- about diet, exercise, travel, COVID or other illnesses, prescriptions, work letters, etc.

PLEASE PAGE 519-435-6540 FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

• Vaginal bleeding – (spotting is normal after having a vaginal exam or sex)
• Severe pain in your belly; abdominal pain
• Severe headache, blurred vision, new nausea or vomiting
• Waters break – please pay attention to the colour and smell of the fluid
• Decreased or lack of fetal movement
• Fever higher than 38 C (100.4 F) uncontrolled by Tylenol
• Regular contractions before 37 weeks of pregnancy
• You think you have a bladder infection
• You need to go to the Emergency Department for a problem that is not related to pregnancy and you are more than 20 weeks (5 months) pregnant. If LESS than 20 wks- please just attend the ER if concerned and inform us of the visit by calling the office afterwards

PAGE DURING LABOUR:

If this is your 1st baby

• if your contractions are strong, 4 minutes (or less) apart, lasting 1 minute and this pattern has been going on for at least an hour (4-1-1)

If this is NOT your 1st baby

• if your contractions are strong, about 5 minutes apart and strong
• if contractions are very strong, even if they are not regular.
• your water breaks – Note the colour, smell, and baby’s movements
• you are bleeding and it is like a period or running down your leg
• If you think you are in labour and are confused or not coping well

PAGE AFTER BIRTH IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

• Completely soaked through a maternity pad in 30 minutes or less
• A fever of greater than 38 C (100.4 F)
• A sore, red, painful, hot area on your breast or chest
• Flu-like symptoms
• Persistent uterine tenderness
• A vaginal discharge that smells very bad. It should smell like a strong period-smell
• Blurry vision, upper abdominal pain or severe headache
• Ongoing feelings of depression, uncontrolled crying, inability to sleep or eat, extreme anxiety or agitation
• Sore reddened, painful, hot area on your leg, especially the calf
• Severe chest pain

PAGE IF YOUR BABY HAS ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

• Is breathing more than 1 breath/second for more than 10 minutes. It will look like panting for longer that 10minutes.
• Has not peed or pooped in the first 24 hours after the birth
• Will not eat for greater than 6 hours
• Has a temperature of greater than 37.5 C/ 99.5 F or less than 36.3 C (97.3 F)

YOUR MIDWIVES ARE:

Hi everyone, my name is Themar Oseki. I’m so excited to start my senior year placement at Elgin County Midwives starting in May 2024. I’m very passionate about reproductive justice, and its integration within midwifery care. When I’m not catching babies, I enjoy thrifting, exploring new food spots, and roller skating! I look forward to meeting and learning from you all during my final midwifery placement! Themar is our student from spring 2024 to winter 2025

Hi, my name is Megan Smith! I’m currently in my second year of the Midwifery Education Program at
McMaster. Prior to starting the program, I completed a double major at Western University in
Psychology and Sociology. I always knew I wanted to find a career that I was truly passionate
about, but nothing quite fit until I discovered midwifery! I was drawn to the core values of
informed choice and continuity of care that make the connections midwives and their clients
have so empowering and special. I am so honoured to be learning and growing alongside the
Elgin County Midwives team and clients. While on break, you can find me back country
camping with my husband, or playing games with family and friends. Megan is out student winter 2024.

Sophie McAlpine was our student in 2023-2024. She studied midwifery at McMaster University and is thrilled to be completing her senior placement with Elgin County Midwives. She holds a B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia and spent time working in the management of outdoor education centres prior to studying midwifery. Sophie is from Alberta where she loves backpacking through the mountains in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter. She was drawn to midwifery because of its ability to weave together intellectual, physical, and emotional work within a model of care that centers the client. She is deeply grateful for the opportunity to learn from to the staff and clients of Elgin County Midwives as she embarks of the final chapter of the midwifery education program.

Olivia Mickie is a second-year Midwifery BHSc student at McMaster University. She first completed an HBSc in Kinesiology at Queen’s University in Kingston, which helped her find midwifery. She is very passionate about reproductive health and justice and find midwifery to be a great place for her to pursue this passion. Some of her hobbies include biking, traveling, and walking my dogs. She was our student January 4, 2022.

Hello, my name is Bronwyn Rush and I am in my final year of midwifery school. I grew up in Beamsville, Ontario and have always enjoyed living in a smaller town. I have previously completed an undergraduate degree in health sciences from the University of Western Ontario. In my fourth year at Western I was struggling to find a career that I wanted to pursue when I graduated, until I learned more about midwifery while researching a project on rural maternal health in Ontario. I was interested in being able to empower women to make informed decisions regarding their own health and midwifery seemed to be the perfect fit for me. So far I am really enjoying my midwifery education through McMaster University and love working with the Elgin County Midwives. Bronwyn was our student in 2021.

All midwives practicing in Ontario have graduated from rigorous midwifery education programs. They become experts in uncomplicated birth and emergency procedures by studying health, social and biological sciences in the classroom, completing clinical placements under the supervision of experienced midwives, attending births as secondary and primary care providers, and providing prenatal and postpartum care in midwifery clinics and clients’ homes.

There are four possible educational paths to becoming a midwife in this province:

1. The Midwifery Education Program (MEP), offered at Laurentian, McMaster and Ryerson universities, is a four-year degree program that awards graduates a Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) degree in midwifery.
2. The Aboriginal Midwifery Training Program at Tsi Non:we Ionnakeratstha Ona:grahsta’, the Maternal and Child Centre on Six Nations of the Grand River territory, is a four-year education program for Indigenous midwifery students.
3. The International Midwifery Pre-registration Program (IMPP), offered through Ryerson University, is a bridging program that prepares experienced, internationally educated midwives to practice in Ontario.
4. The Midwifery Post-Baccalaureate Program for Health Professionals (PBHP) is an accelerated stream of the Midwifery Education Program that accepts candidates who already have health professional baccalaureate degrees and significant maternity care experience.

source https://www.ontariomidwives.ca/regulation-education

At Elgin County Midwives our students primarily come from the McMaster Midwifery program. There are many great benefits to having a student. Many clients really enjoy the extra learning they receive both from the client but also from they midwife as she teaches and guides the student through their learning. Midwifery is a hands on profession and there is only one way to learn – hands on!

Elgin County Midwives are committed to providing an inclusive, safe environment for all of our clients, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, religion, relationship status, immigration/citizenship status or ethnic origin.

Same great midwives but now fully dedicated to St. Thomas, Aylmer and the rest of Elgin County. As of December 1 we will no longer be part of Talbot Creek Midwives. TCM will continue to exist in Komoka and serving the families of London and Middlesex County.

Our office address remains 66 West Ave in St. Thomas. The telephone number is the same – 519 637 2224 but we have a new fax number (I know! faxes! but honestly they are still used a lot in healthcare! It’s weird) Our new fax number is 226 406 5833.