South Community Birth Program

it’s scary to find out you’re pregnant for the first time and not have a doctor! i was so happy to learn about the south community birth program and i felt so lucky to become a part of the community with a doctor, midwife and doula! i now even have a family doctor as our doctor started a practice for women in the program who did not have family doctors!
we had 2 visits with our doctor or midwife before a series of 10 classes with other couples due around the same time as us. belly checks and general check-​ins were done before the class or during the break. at the beginning, i felt like i needed more attention or reassurance that everything was ok but i guess i didn’t feel it strongly enough to actually book a separate appointment for myself (which you can do). in the end, it’s been a wonderful experience. we didn’t really feel like we learned much from the classes, but it’s been super fun getting to know the other couples in the class and share in this wild experience with them. we have our last of the 10 classes soon and all the babies will be born by then and eeeee, it’s so exciting to hear everyone’s birth stories and meet their littles!
for the birth of our baby, we didn’t know anyone in the labour room except for our doula but that was fine! our doula, michelle, was so amazing and it was so reassuring and calming to have someone there for me that totally knew what she was doing. we were able to leave the hospital the day our little lady was born.
i totally believe that the community part of this program and the empowering theme of the classes (emphasizing choices and open minds over set biases) and the doula support is what makes this program a success for natural and complication-​free birth. i am so grateful that we got to be a part of this program and had such an amazing birth experience!

Sometimes I most amazed how life works. (and I am usually pretty in awe of everything) I don’t know how our lucky stars came together in a way that allowed my wife to find the South Community Birth Program.
Like most recent landed immigrants my wife does not have a GP. We were grappling with what we were going to do considering we just found out she was pregnant. One of her friends told her of the SCBP and that there was a Japanese doula on staff. (We were like «what’s a doula?») We looked into the program and noticed it was run by midwives, doulas and doctors that promoted natural well being for expectant mothers. We were interested right away.
We made our first appointment and once we walked in the door we knew this was how my wife wanted to be cared for during her pregnancy. We met with one of the midwives and she let us know that the program that would last the length of my wife’s pregnancy and continue until six weeks after the birth of our son. We have been going to the SCBP ever since that meeting.
We have felt safe and very cared for throughout my wife’s pregnancy and my wife learned so much from our doula about having a child, how to best prepare to give birth and how to care for him when born. The midwives and doctors always take special care with my wife, with a smile, happy story and great interest in our family. They love happy moms and happy babies. As a dad I feel so part of the process and I love how much I have learned about how to make my wife comfortable and how to be of service to her. I’ve also learned so much about how to care for my son.
I’ve never seen or met a more dedicated loving, and compassionate group of women in all my life. It’s really a program of beauty.
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