West Hill Midwifery

11/19/2025

In the first week, it can feel like your baby wants to feed nonstop. Many parents worry this means they are not making enough milk.

The truth is: constant feeding is not a sign of failure. It is how your baby signals your body to bring in milk and establish supply.

Trust the process, and remember that what feels overwhelming is actually your baby doing exactly what they are designed to do.

11/17/2025

November 17 is World Prematurity Day, an opportunity to raise awareness about preterm birth and the unique health challenges premature babies face. Preterm birth occurs in approximately 10% of pregnancies, so recognizing the signs of preterm labour is essential to getting the specialized care mother and baby might need.

To learn more about preterm birth and how to recognize the signs, visit: https://www.pregnancyinfo.ca/birth/special-considerations/preterm-labour/

11/17/2025

Based on a Duke University study published in Science Advances in 2019, growing a baby is energetically comparable to or more demanding than running a marathon every day for 9 months. The study found that pregnancy pushes the human body to its metabolic limits over a long duration, in a way that is similar to elite endurance events but sustained for much longer.

Energy costs during pregnancy:

Pregnancy is an extreme feat of endurance because the body works constantly to grow a new human, even at rest.

📑Total calories: Pregnancy requires an additional 50,000 dietary calories over nine months. The mother’s body provides 96% of this energy.

📑Cardiovascular demand: To support the growing baby, a woman’s blood volume can increase by 30 to 50 percent, and her heart rate increases by 10 to 15 beats per minute.

📑Metabolic demands: The body’s resting energy use can rise by up to 30%, meaning it works much harder even when stationary.

While a marathon is a discrete event, pregnancy is a continuous process of biological transformation. The comparison highlights the total metabolic output over the long term. A woman’s heart, lungs, and metabolism work overtime every day for nine months, making pregnancy one of the most intense and sustained physical challenges a human body can undergo.

SOURCE: https://www.therunningweek.com/post/growing-a-baby-takes-more-energy-than-running-marathons-for-9-months-straight

10/23/2025

👶 Skin-to-skin contact involves placing the naked newborn on the mother’s uncovered chest immediately after birth. This simple practice helps babies adapt to life outside the womb, keeping them warm, reducing stress and crying, and supporting vital functions such as breathing and heart rate.

New Cochrane evidence confirms what many already practice: immediate skin-to-skin contact between newborns and their mothers gives babies a better start in life.

Babies held skin-to-skin within the first hour after birth are more likely to:

🩵 Breastfeed exclusively
🩵 Maintain healthy body temperature and blood sugar
🩵 Breathe and adapt better outside the womb

Importantly, the evidence is now so strong that researchers argue it’s no longer ethical to conduct studies that separate mothers and babies after birth.

“Withholding skin-to-skin contact would now be considered unethical, as there is enough evidence to show that the practice improves newborn health and survival,” says Karin Cadwell, senior author and Executive Director and Lead Faculty of
Healthy Children Project Center for Breastfeeding.

Read more on our website: https://www.cochrane.org/about-us/news/strong-evidence-supports-skin-skin-contact-after-birth-standard-care

10/08/2025

Great tips on how to take iron for maximum benefit in pregnancy

09/28/2025

https://midwifery.ubc.ca/prospective-students/information-sessions/?utm_source=Cyberimpact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Midwifery-Messenger-Q3---2025--Highlights-and-updates-inside-

There are zoom info sessions on the midwifery program at UBC now!

Explore Your Future in Midwifery Passionate about maternal and newborn care? Curious about what a career in midwifery could offer? Join us at one of the UBC Midwifery Information Sessions to explore the possibilities and learn how to become a part of this dynamic profession. Our information sessions...

09/23/2025

The SOGC have issued a statement on the use of Acetaminophen in pregnancy.

09/23/2025

ACOG reaffirms the safety and benefits of acetaminophen use during pregnancy.
More than two decades of research have found no causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in children. Acetaminophen continues to be an important and safe option for managing pain and fever in pregnancy—conditions that can pose serious risks to pregnant patients and their fetuses if left untreated. Learn more about acetaminophen use during pregnancy: https://bit.ly/4mqIzWr

08/13/2025

For indigenous birthers wondering about choice of birthplace.

08/01/2025

07/09/2025

"Midwifery models of care are models of care in which the main care providers for women and newborns, starting from pre-pregnancy and continuing all the way through the postnatal period, are educated, licensed, regulated midwives who autonomously provide and coordinate respectful, high- quality care across their full scope of practice, using an approach that is aligned with the midwifery philosophy of care, which:

i. promotes a person-centred approach to care;
ii. values the woman–midwife relationship and partnership;
iii. optimizes physiological, biological, psychological, social and cultural processes; and iv. uses interventions only when indicated.
In midwifery models of care, midwives provide integrated care, addressing the needs of each individual woman and newborn, within functional and enabling health systems, equipped with necessary resources and streamlined consultation and referral processes. They collaborate within networks of care as part of interdisciplinary teams characterized by equality, trust and respect. This approach guarantees that every woman and newborn receives personalized care, tailored to their health needs.

Midwifery models of care are adaptable to all levels of care and contexts, including home-, community- and hospital-based settings; the public and private sectors and public–private partnerships; resource-constrained environments; and humanitarian and crisis settings. This ensures wide accessibility, equity and relevance across different cultural contexts for women, newborns, partners, families and communities."

Read More: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240098268

06/04/2025

Home or Hospital? You choose.

Midwives honour and support each client’s right to decide where they feel safest and most supported to give birth.

Whether at home, in a birth centre, or in hospital, midwives provide expert, personalized care every step of the way—and they collaborate closely with healthcare partners like obstetricians, nurses, anesthetists, and lactation consultants to ensure seamless care.

With admitting and discharge privileges at hospitals, midwives offer flexibility, safety, and continuity—so your birth can reflect your values.

Learn more about your options: https://www.bcmidwives.com/care_midwife.html