Midwifery Care North Shore (MCNS) is a well-established Lower Lonsdale community practice located at Quayside Village.
MCNS was the first practice to be established on the North Shore when midwifery became regulated in British Columbia in 1998. Since then, we have provided midwifery services to over 1,017 women and their families.
The majority of women receiving MCNS care have spontaneous, uncomplicated labour and childbirth and the practice currently has a 25% home-birth rate. Clients interested in home-birth can find out more by going to our resource page. Those intending homebirth can arrange to pick up supplies provided by the province from MCNS office. MCNS arranges for a North Shore or Vancouver midwifery colleague to be the second attendant at a homebirth. Partners are welcome at all appointments and are especially encouraged to attend at least 3 prenatal appointments when women are interested in homebirth.
The remaining 75% of our clientele give birth at Lions Gate Hospital where MCNS holds long-standing relationships with the midwives, physicians and nurses. A nurse is assigned as a second attendant in hospital. All of our clientele are encouraged to take a hospital tour, as regardless of birth setting, Lions Gate Hospital is our back up Hospital. While most of our clients use non-medical means of pain relief during labor, medical pain relief is an option for women who request medication. Researchers have noted that a need for medical pain relief is a common reason for a woman pregnant with her first baby, to change birth place and move from home into hospital.
Midwifery Care North Shore is pleased in 2019 to have a team of two midwives that are part of VCH LGH Midwifery Division and to no longer be primarily a solo-practice. This means that women in care will have more opportunity of meeting the midwife likely to attend their birth. Vera and her colleagues are committed to actively involving women in care and to providing a personalized service during pregnancy, labor and postpartum. We aim to assist each woman feel that she has done everything possible to lovingly bring her baby safely into the world. Regardless of whether a woman has a short or long labor, births at home or in hospital, has a vaginal birth with or without pain medication, or an assisted vacuum, forceps or c/section delivery aided by medical specialists, we work with a woman so that she and her family may have the best experience possible.
Since January 2019, in addition to providing services to our midwifery clientele, our team has been providing postpartum assessment, breastfeeding and early parenting services to North Shore women that delivered with an obstetrician and are desirous of midwifery postpartum care.
We are pleased to continue this service that offers a 3rd trimester prenatal visit to plan postpartum care, a visit after birth in hospital, home visits the 1st week postpartum and office visits with baby from 2weeks to 6-8weeks postpartum. Folk interested in MCNS postpartum care only, can contact us via our contact form
MCNS is a University of BC multi-disciplinary teaching practice committed to maternity education and the promotion of women-centered health care. Various students (midwifery, medical and nursing) have been supervised at different times. While a woman’s right to decline student involvement in her care is respected, our clients are encouraged to participate in the vital process of preparing new practitioners to serve more of British Columbia’s women. There are now several midwives who have worked as students in MCNS that are currently registered and providing midwifery services throughout the province. If you have an issue with students participating in your care, let your midwife know.
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW MCNS PROVIDES WOMEN CARE
- How midwifery services are paid for?
BC residents’ services are covered by a BC care card for a course of care.
There is a private fee schedule for women without medical services coverage that can be requested and a consultation fee for women with MSP that only want one visit with a midwife or had an intake visit that cannot be billed to MSP.
- Can midwives provide services to all women?
Midwives have a limited number of courses of care that can be provided annually by one midwife.
Healthy women are the population best served by midwives that have expertise in uncomplicated ‘low risk’ pregnancies. Pregnant women with serious physical or mental health issues are better served by an obstetrician, or a team of doctors and midwives that share care.
- Can a woman see a midwife and doctor at the same time?
Midwives are primary caregivers of well pregnant women during their whole pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum. We are also primary caregivers of well newborns until 6-8 weeks postpartum and have expertise to assist women with breastfeeding. Consequently, well women do not see a doctor at the same time they see a midwife for maternity care. We are able to order and interpret all maternity tests and prescribe treatments for maternity related conditions during pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum. Including medications needed for pain relief or emergency care. You can access test results by applying for my e-health and can discuss results with a midwife during your appointments or over the phone. Should a need arise for a doctor at any time during your pregnancy, labor, birth or postpartum care, your midwife will make an appropriate referral. It is important to inform your midwife of your health concerns. In the rare instance that a midwife is unable to provide services, it is our responsibility to arrange for another midwife or doctor to provide your care.
- When do I need to see a midwife and how will my appointments be provided?
It’s important to begin your care in the first trimester, before you are 14weeks pregnant. So that you can access ultrasound to accurately date your pregnancy and reduce your chance of having unnecessary medical intervention at the end of pregnancy. Starting care early, also affords an opportunity to undertake optional time-sensitive prenatal genetic screening that can tell a pregnant woman her chance of having a baby with Down syndrome, trisomy 18, or an open neural tube defect.
See informed decision making tool that may be help you make a decision to undertake or forego this test: http://www.
MCNS regular appointments are routinely scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday only. Thursday is reserved to reschedule appointments that have been cancelled due to a labor. When a woman chooses to come into care, there are usually 2 initial appointments relatively close together, so that a history can be obtained, a physical examination be untaken and requisitions provided for all routine and optional tests. After a woman has reached 19 – 23 weeks pregnant and has had a detailed ultrasound, MCNS likes to provide a schedule of appointments until a woman’s estimated due date. These appointments are scheduled every 4 – 5weeks until a woman is around 30 weeks pregnant; every 2-3 weeks until around 37weeks and then every week until a baby is born. We try hard to provide women their preferred times within our regularly scheduled appointment times that take place between 9.00am and 5.00pm.
Most prenatal and postnatal appointments take place in Quayside Village‘s comfy space. The exception being for women living in area and planning a homebirth, one prenatal appointment will be scheduled at home. In regards to visits after baby is born, all women living in area have home visits scheduled their first week postpartum. Thereafter, they like women that live out of area, meet with Vera or a colleague in MCNS’s office until everyone is discharged from midwifery care around 6 to 8 weeks postpartum.
Midwifery appointments can be arranged via email. While email is our preferred method of contact, appointments can also be made via telephone (604 984 6960). Please note that depending on how busy we are with births and appointments, we may not be able to immediately answer your email or call. However, messages are checked regularly and responded to within one – two business days. At this time our staff are mostly doing office work remotely from home.
- How can a midwife be contacted for time-sensitive or urgent concerns?
For women who are enrolled into care, MCNS has a 24 hour paging service for urgent concerns. A voice message on Vera’s pager will either instruct a woman to punch in her telephone number, so that Vera can return her page within 15 – 30 minutes or will provide the name and contact number of the midwife providing 24 hour coverage.
- How can I speak to a midwife about non-urgent issues in between my appointments?
Please note that clinical issues cannot be discussed via email or text message. If you have a question that is non-urgent and cannot wait until your next appointment, just send an email providing your telephone number and indicating that you have a non-urgent question that you would like to discuss. Vera or a colleague will telephone call you within 1 -2 business days.
- What happens if I were to experience a complication?
Midwives are trained to recognize the early signs of medical conditions or complications as these become apparent. As such, midwives discuss, consult with or transfer care as needed to other health care providers – including obstetricians or pediatricians. If such complications arise that care is transferred, midwives continue to be involved in a supportive role, often care is transferred back to the midwife once a complication has resolved.
Midwives, like doctors are also trained to deal with obstetrical or neonatal emergency situations and carry equipment and medications needed to deal with these situations in women’s homes.
- I am well into my care with another provider – can MCNS take me into care?
It is a woman’s choice to change care at any time during her pregnancy. Providing that there are spots open in the practice, we may be able to accommodate. In this situation, as a courtesy, we ask that you inform your current provider directly of your need to change care and that you sign a MCNS release of information, so that your current provider can fax your records to our office. Alternatively you can ask for a copy of your records that you can give us yourself.
Most times women change care to meet their own needs. It is important in life to identify needs and take steps to meet these. This is the foundation upon which wellness and a positive labor, birth and postpartum experience can be built. We encourage our clients to identify their needs and to openly communicate these, if finding another provider is on their list, we are pleased to refer clients to another provider and/or to include another provider in a client’s care when needed. When a client moves to another practice, we require a signed records release in order to forward client records. Alternatively, a client can arrange to collect records personally from MCNS office.
- Just to be certain, can I have medical pain relief in my labor?
Absolutely, any woman that needs medical pain relief can have this ordered by her midwife.
Often women are surprised how helpful non-medical copings options are, such as intention, breath, affirmations, visualization, movement, massage, transcutaneous electronic nerve stimulation (TENS), water, acupressure and encouragement.