top of page

RESOURCES
We have compiled accredited resources for our clients use below. All resources have been vetted by our Midwives and provide up to date creditable information.
Resources
Resources
Visit the Association of Ontario Midwives for handouts on the following:
LINK HERE
-Pregnancy Beyond 40
-Iron Deficiency Anemia
-Life After Postpartum Hemorrhage
-Normal Newborn Behaviour
-VBAC
-Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy
-What is Jaundice?
-When your baby needs phototherapy
-When your pregnancy goes past your due date
Association of Ontario Midwives
College of Midwives of Ontario Brochure
Midwifery Education Program
International Confederation of Midwives
GENERAL
OMAMA-Ontario Based Resource App
Evidence Based Birth
Best Start-Resource for parents
SOGC-Pregnancy and Sexual Health
SOGC (Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada) Pregnancy Info
Government of Canada Pregnancy Info
Public Health: Healthy Babies, Healthy Children Program
Public Health Durham Region
Public Health Ontario
MEDICATION SAFETY IN PREGNANCY
Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Pocket Guide
Mother to Baby
HEALTHY EATING IN PREGNANCY
Healthy Eating Pregnancy
Canada Food Guide
EXERCISE IN PREGNANCY
SOGC
Sick Kids Resource
BC Resource
Prenatal Fitness Video
WEIGHT GAIN IN PREGNANCY
Weight Gain Resource
ALCOHOL USE IN PREGNANCY
SOGC Pregnancy Info
CANNABIS USE WHILE PREGNANT OR BREASTFEEDING
PDF Download Resource
SMOKING AND PREGNANCY
Smoking cessation
Second hand smoke exposure during pregnancy
Smoking cessation resources for family members
SUBSTANCE USE IN PREGNANCY
SOGC Healthy Pregnancy
NAUSEA AND VOMITING
SOGC Healthy Pregnancy
ORAL HEALTH IN PREGNANCY
Public Health - Oral Health in Pregnancy
DURHAM COMMUNITY FOOD RESOURCES
Food Bank
Nutritional Allowance Information
Government Resources
DURHAM PUBLIC HEALTH RESOURCES
Baby on the way
Healthy Baby Healthy Children
To learn more about genetic prenatal screening, including a list of Ultrasound labs list of ultrasound labs that are accredited to provide the ~11-13week NT Ultrasound, visit Prenatal Screening Ontario.
Is Prenatal Screening Right for Me?
Non-Invasive Prenatal Test
DISCOMFORTS OF LATER PREGNANCY
OMAMA
BREECH/ECV
SOGC Guide
DUE DATE
When you pass your due date
Ontario Midwives - Post dates
GBS
General information and clinical practice guidelines
PRELABOUR RUPTURE OF MEMBRANES
Ontario Midwives Guildline
PRE-TERM LABOUR
oMama
FETAL MOVEMENT AWARENESS / KICK COUNTING
oMama Fetal Movement
Fetal Movement
Choice of birthplace - your options
Choice of birthplace (first baby)
Choice of birthplace (after your first baby)
Choosing Home Birth
Home
Home Birth FAQ
Hospital
Alongside Midwifery Unit: What to Expect
How can you tell if you're struggling with mental health in pregnancy and postpartum:
Markham Stouffville hospital Program (self referral)
Ontario Shores (Whitby: need referral) LOVE YOU program
Postpartum Depression Handout CAMH
CAMH, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Postpartum Depression
Reproductive Life stages Program (need referral)
Women's College Hospital, Mother Matters
Bounce Back Ontario-free, guided program (telephone, videos, etc.)
Postpartum Depression and Baby Blues
Free Online Support Groups (mental health/anxiety/depression, Black parents, Desi parents, special needs children, Queer + Trans parents, NICU parents and many other groups!)
Self-directed Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) workbooks for Perinatal Anxiety and Perinatal Depression.
PRENATAL CLASSES
Midwife Holliday Tyson, RM Youtube Prenatal Videos (Part 1-3)
Shawn Gallagher- Childbirth Joy Prenatal Hypnosis
Uxbridge Prenatal Classes and Yoga
Markham Prenatal Classes and Yoga, PUSH
Your Baby Academy (run by Midwives in our Community)
Free Hypnobirthing Online Resource
Keep Calm Hypnobirthing
Hypnobirthing Canada
Womb: Birthing from Within Prenatal Classes
Graceful Birth
Mother Matters: Prenatal Classes
York Region Public Health Online Course
Durham Region Public Health Online Course
My Baby Bump Stouffville
Discover Birth
Durham Lamaze
Best Start Prenatal Education Program
Online video prenatal education series by Holiday Tyson (free)
Birthing While Black (free online course)
OONA -Newmarket
WATERBIRTH
Ontario Midwives, Water Birth
DOULA INFORMATION
Evidence Based Birth- Doulas
Discover Birth
Birth Doula Program at Markham Stouffville Hospital
Doulas of North America (DONA) International
Association of Ontario Doulas
Durham Region Doula Info
OONA- Doulas
HOSPITAL TOUR
Alongside Midwifery Unit
Ontario Midwives
An Unnecessary Cut: How the C-Section Became America's Most Common Major Surgery
Early Labour (BC Resource)
Signs of Labour The MotHERS Program resource
Positions for birthing research
Waterbirth Research
Coping Techniques Research
Fetal Monitoring Research
BREASTFEEDING
Canadian Paediatric Society Baby and Breastfeeding Handout
Breastfeeding Clinic Oak Valley Health
Is my baby getting enough milk?
Medication and drug use while Breastfeeding
Finger and Cup Feeding
Helpful Breastfeeding Information Sheets
Helpful Breastfeeding Video - English
Helpful Breastfeeding Video - Multi Language
Jack Newman, MD, IBCLC: Breastfeeding Online
La Leche League Canada: Breastfeeding Info
Ontario Human Rights Commission: Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
INFACT Canada
Breastfeeding Position and Latch
Jack Newman videos and information sheets https://ibconline.ca/
Breastfeeding HOTLINE
Best Start Breastfeeding and Output Chart
Sick Kids: About Health
Best Start
Caring for Yourself
Pelvic Floor Health/ Kegels
Nutrition after pregnancy
Health and Nutrition after pregnancy
Body Changes after Pregnancy
Urinary Incontinence
Your body after pregnancy
Your new body after baby
Birth Registration and Certificate
Government of Canada New Parent Resources
Infant Hearing Screening Online Booking
Normal Newborn Behaviour Association of Ontario Midwives (reviewed by your Midwives after your birth)
OMAMA- Caring for your baby
Sick Kids (About Kids Health)- Newborn Care
Infant Sleep
The Fourth Trimester - Online Newborn Class
An online class newborn (bath time, swaddling, infant sleep patterns, and more), self care and breastfeeding basics.
Caring for Baby
GROWTH
WHO Growth Charts
NEWBORN MEDICATIONS
Vitamin K
Erythromycin
Canadian Paediatric Society Erythromycin
Vitamin D Supplementation, Health Canada Recommendation
NEWBORN SCREENING
Critical Congenital Heart Disease Screen
Newborn Screen
Canadian Paediatric Society Jaundice
What is Jaundice
JAUNDICE
Ontario Midwives
CIRCUMCISION AND FORESKIN CARE
CPS
https://www.intactamerica.org/
https://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/circumcision
HOW TO BATHE YOUR BABY
Video Resource
VACCINATION
Public Health
oMama
Canimmunize
CRYING and COLIC
Colic and Crying
PREVENTING FLAT HEADS in NEWBORNS
Tummy Time/ Preventing Flat Head Syndrome
Prevent Flat Heads
PACIFIERS/SOOTHERS
Things to think about before using a pacifier
Tummy Time/ Preventing Flat Heads
https://www.durham.ca/en/health-and-wellness/resources/Documents/BabiesandToddlers/Tummytime.pdf
https://caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/pregnancy-and-babies/preventing_flat_heads
Wellness Clinics
OONA
Axis Chiropractic
Stouffville Natural Health Clinic
Pelvic Health Clinics
OONA
Markham Pelvic Health
Birth Bliss Perineal Care after Birth
Perineam (area between your vagina and your anus)
The perineum may be sore, swollen, and bruised from the birth. Women might have stitches in the perineum if they had a tear or an episiotomy. The stitches usually dissolve around two to four weeks, and the tissues heal over six weeks. It is normal for women to find small pieces of the sutures on their pads or in their underwear as the stitches dissolve.
Women may find relief from perineal pain and swelling by:
Applying ice packs to the perineal area for the first 24 hours. Ice packs and cold compresses should be removed after 10 – 20 minutes and reapplied every hour as needed.
Ice packs should be wrapped in a towel or facecloth and not applied directly to the skin.
Women can use cold compresses, a bag of ice or frozen veggies, or a frozen, water-soaked maxi pad or baby diaper to place in their underwear.
Resting as much as possible.
Letting the perineum air-dry while resting.
Using a pillow or an inflatable ring when sitting. Inflatable rings are available at most drugstores.
Soaking the perineal area in warm water a few times a day and after bowel movements. A sitz bath filled with a few inches of water and placed on the toilet seat is convenient. Sitz baths can be purchased at the drug store or home health store. If a woman is using her bathtub for perineal soaks, she should have it cleaned first and ensure that someone is present to help her in and out of the tub for the first few times.
Taking OTC pain medications recommended by her health care provider.
Pain that is not improving, or stitches that are opening or oozing are situations where the women should contact her health care provider.
Perineal hygiene
It is important to keep the perineal and anal area clean by always wiping carefully from the front to the back after urinating or having a bowel movement. Women can use a squeeze bottle with warm water to clean the vulva and perineum. Wipes or hemorrhoid pads can be gentler than toilet paper. Using soft, undyed, unscented toilet paper is preferable.
Having a sitz bath can help provide hygiene after having a bowel movement.
OONA Postpartum C-Section Support
Care of the incision
Women who have had a caesarean birth will be given instructions as to whether they need their stitches or staples removed. Stitch or staple removal is usually done a few days after the caesarean birth either at the hospital, in the health care provider’s office, or during a midwife home visit. Some women will have dissolvable stitches that do not require removal.
The incision may have small pieces of tape on it which can be removed in the shower after a few days.
The incision should be left to air dry and not covered with a dressing unless instructed to do so.
Any redness, swelling, opening or gaping of the incision or discharge from the incision should be reported to the health care provider. Tissues take about six weeks to heal from any surgery.
Pain management
Women who have had a caesarean birth will be discharged from the hospital with pain relief instructions and often a prescription for pain medication. It is important for women to take their medication as needed since controlling their pain makes them more comfortable moving around and caring for themselves and their babies. It can be normal for some women to feel numbness around their incisions for a period of days to months
The breasts undergo a number of changes in the postpartum period whether the woman plans to breastfeed or not. Additional Information
Lactogenesis
Lactogenesis 1 is the initial secretion of colostrum; Lactogenesis 2 occurs two to four days after the birth with the copious secretion of breastmilk. Lactogenesis 2 is often referred to as the “milk coming in,” and is a time when many women experience discomfort as the breasts can become quite full and swollen. Breast fullness can last a couple of days and will diminish as the milk production becomes more regulated to the infant’s needs. Since the baby can have a growth spurt about every three weeks or so, mothers can expect to experience breast fullness due to the increase in milk production at these times.
Fullness/engorgement
Normal breast fullness that improves with infant feeding is not the same as breast engorgement. Engorgement is a pathological condition in which the breasts become hot, swollen, hard, and very painful.
The following strategies can help relieve breast fullness and prevent breast engorgement in the first few days:
Support mothers to identify and respond to feeding cues soon after birth.
Encourage frequent feedings, at least eight times in 24 hours to establish a good milk supply.
Avoid giving any supplemental feedings unless there is a medical need for them.
Ensure the baby is feeding well.
Encourage skin-to-skin care.
If breasts become so full or swollen that it is difficult to latch the baby:
Prior to feeds, massage, or manually express the breasts to help the milk to flow. Manually express the breast to soften the areola to make it easier for the baby to latch, especially if the breasts are full. Warm compresses applied to the breasts before massage is comforting and can improve milk flow.
Ensure the infant is well-latched and feeding well. The mother should hear the infant frequently swallowing during the feed.
Encourage women to offer both breasts at each feeding. If the baby does not feed on the second side, the mother can manually express for a few minutes to make it more comfortable.
Encourage mothers to wear a supportive bra that is not too tight.
Apply ice packs or cold compresses after feeds to help to reduce any swelling and/or pain.
Offer support and advise mothers to seek help if things are not improving with the engorgement or infant feeding. The most important thing is to feed the baby. Mothers can express their milk and feed it to their babies with a small cup, spoon, or bottle if necessary.
If the mother develops signs of mastitis, which includes localized or generalized breast pain, redness, heat, red streaking in the breast, along with fever and flu‐like symptoms, she should seek medical help immediately.
Women may also experience nipple tenderness with breastfeeding, and it is important for the breastfeeding mother to have reliable breastfeeding resources and assistance. This may include their family physicians or midwives, a breastfeeding clinic, in-home assistance through the Public Health Department, or through a peer support group such as La Leche League.
Mothers who are not breastfeeding
Lactogenesis2 will start to occur regardless of a woman’s intention to breastfeed or not. There are some simple interventions to offer women who choose not to breastfeed to increase their comfort level. In the past, medications and herbal remedies were used to attempt to “dry up the milk” but these have not proven to be effective. Physicians and midwives do not prescribe any medications to stop Lactogenesis.
Women may find it helpful to do the following:
Wear a supportive but non-stretchy bra.
Apply ice packs or cold compresses to breasts frequently.
Avoid the application of hot packs or hot compresses as this encourages swelling and more discomfort.
Take pain medication as recommended.
Express small amounts of milk to relieve the discomfort associated with engorgement. Expressing small amounts of milk should only be done for a few minutes.
Be patient as it takes a few days to a few weeks for the milk to dry up.
One Love Prenatal Yoga
bottom of page