This midwife-led clinic is being called a 'safety net' for parents and newborns

Leaders of a midwife-led clinic billed as the first of its kind in Toronto's east end say every community should have a similar service to help fill the gaps in postpartum health care.

The Family and Newborn (FAN) Clinic, located within Michael Garron Hospital's BMO Child and Youth Clinic, is led by a team of midwives who provide routine and semi-urgent care to new parents and their babies for up to eight weeks postpartum. It's open to new parents who either gave birth at the hospital or live in the hospital's catchment area, with or without a referral, seven days a week.

The space opened in January after years of preparation and construction, and since then it's served over 300 families looking to get rapid care, says Christie Lockhart, chief of the midwifery department.

"We should have these in every community. Every parent who's giving birth should have access to comprehensive postpartum care," she told CBC Toronto. "We're not the first and we're not the only, but we're definitely few and far between."

On top of taking in-clinic appointments, the centre also gives low-risk families the option of leaving the hospital early if they'd like to recover at home, and sets them up with a midwife who will visit them up to two days postpartum. "It's definitely a first for the east end of Toronto," Lockhart said.

Post-birth, parents and newborns need routine assessments and timely answers to urgent concerns. But many are left with few options for fast appointments if their obstetrician or pediatrician is booked up or their family doctor can't see them — if they have one amid a shortage.

Too often, parents are forced to make a visit to an ER to get care, says Lockhart, and "we never want to have a minor complication coming through the emergency department.

Asked how the province is supporting more spaces like the FAN Clinic, Ema Popovic, spokesperson for the Minister of Health said the province "recognizes Ontario's midwives are an important part of our healthcare system. That is why last year we invested more than $15 million to increase midwifery compensation and ensure that families and newborns can access high-quality midwifery closer to home," including at Michael Garron Hospital. 

Popovic also noted efforts the government is taking to increase family doctors, such as expanding medical school seats.

For first-time parents Manon Vialette and Adrian Haight, the FAN Clinic has been their go-to place for their postpartum concerns when their family doctor and OB couldn't see them quickly enough.

"For me, it's the emergency support… that safety net that you maybe don't know that you have when you're a new parent," Haight said.

Dad, mom and their baby Emily have visited the clinic twice for time-sensitive care, once for a routine weekend check-up, and a second time when Vialette's C-section scar wasn't healing properly.

"It's been really, really helpful because it's a challenging time," Haight said.

"Don't have to wait six hours in the emergency room, that's for sure," Vialette added.