Our Clinic Space
Our Clinic Space In London
COVID-19 NOTICE –
Please log in to the client area to our “Welcome to Thames Valley” webpage to review our current and evolving policies and protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our midwives have a thorough cleaning protocol in the office between clients as a result of new guidelines provided to us by the College of Midwives, Association of Ontario Midwives, and other sources providing us with the most up to date procedures.
Please note some of the information on our website currently will reflect normal routine practices prior to the coronavirus pandemic. We have attempted to change as much information as possible to reflect the changing rules and regulations put in place to protect you, your baby, your family and your midwives. We apologize if some of this information changes, due to the ever-changing and evolving recommendations by Public Health, the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO). We will do our best to keep you informed and up-to-date on the latest updates.
Thank you again for your cooperation and ongoing support at this time. Please note: abusive behaviour in relation to policy changes will not be tolerated. It has been very challenging for your Midwives and our staff members to navigate these ever-changing policies to protect you and your baby as best as we can. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Parking And Access
Parking is easy! We are surrounded by 1000’s of spaces. You may park across the street in the Western Fair District Market parking lot located on Ontario Street, directly behind our building in the Fair’s parking lot or anywhere along Dundas street.
Parking for midwives in located on site – please do not park in front of the garage doors or the spaces adjacent to the building. We have reserved these spaces for our busy baby catching midwives!
We are located along a direct bus route which will become a rapid transit route in the near future and a designated bike lane along Dundas.
When you arrive, please enter at the back of the building through our mud room (Door nearest the fence). Please take your shoes off. Our office is a “shoe free zone”! Limited stroller parking is available in our mud room.
Relaxation Area
Our London location, offers a small waiting room as well as a large washroom with a diaper changing area. Due to the pandemic, we are still requesting clients wait in their car where possible, and your midwife will call you in for your appointment when able. In the event you are arriving by foot, please come in, take your shoes off and check in at the desk.
Our lounge area is equipped with a TV to enjoy informative birthing programs and features a lending library. We also have free wifi!
*We take a small deposit for our lending library use, which we will give back to you once you have returned borrowed resources.
Self Screening For COVID-19 Symptoms
Please complete your self assessment questionnaire prior to arrival, which can be found on your appointment reminder email. If you forget to complete this assessment prior to arrival, the self assessment questionnaire is posted on the front door of our office. All answers must be negative or NO to proceed with an in-person assessment. If you arrive on foot, you should not present to the entrance until your allocated appointment time. Your midwife will call prior to your appointment to confirm you have passed screening before entry to the clinic is granted. No proof of vaccination is required, but your midwife may request your status during your appointments due to hospital rules and standards.
Please arrive wearing a non-medical mask or home made face covering. You can review appropriate mask information such as how to put your mask on and take it off safely, as well as appropriate masks to wear here.
If you are presenting with any signs of COVID-19 or are positive/answer yes to any of the screening questions, remain in or return to your car and call the office to inform the staff you have symptoms. Our administrative staff will contact your midwife to provide you with instructions.
Family Friendly
Thames Valley Midwives is family friendly. We encourage direct/ household family members such as partners and/or your children to come along to your appointments unless you prefer some “alone time”. We also encourage partners or your chosen birth partner(s) to attend your prenatal appointments, if they wish, to provide them with opportunities to ask any questions they may have prior to the birth.
Health & Safety
Unfortunately, due to current Health and Safety laws, we are unable to provide toys within our space, so we encourage you to bring toys, books or colouring pads along for your little ones to keep them occupied during your appointment.
What to do if you are sick
If you or anyone in your household are sick, have cold/flu like symptoms or have suspected or confirmed COVID-19, we request that your call our administrative team to reschedule your midwife visit. Please do not get out of your car and enter our office if you are unwell upon arrival, your midwife will make arrangements to visit with you virtually over the phone.
If you are unvaccinated against COVID-19, our midwives are taking extra precautions, and will reschedule your appointment until after a 14 day isolation period, and after you are symptom free for at least 48 hours.
If you are double vaccinated, we require you to be symptom free for at least 48 hours when rescheduling your appointment following a 10 day isolation period if you test positive for COVID-19. We are aware the current public health guidelines are 5 days of isolation, but in an attempt to mimic LHSC procedures and protect our most vulnerable little visitors, we will continue to remain at 10 days at this time.
During self-isolation for COVID-19, our midwives will check in with you over the phone unless an emergency visit is deemed absolutely necessary.
Accessibility
Accessibility to our clinic is at the rear of the building. We have access via a ramp (COMING SOON) into our mud room with limited stroller parking. Due to the old style of the building, small child sized wheelchairs are able to access our space more easily, however our midwives usually make special accommodations for those clients requiring assistance with accessibility. We do not have designated parking for those with accessibility needs, and will ensure adequate accommodations are made prior to your arrival.
If you are unable to access our building, please contact us, and we will make arrangements to accommodate you. If you require language interpretation services or sign language interpretation, please contact us.
Winter Conditions
During dangerous winter weather conditions, we will notify you of clinic cancellations. We almost always cancel clinics during times where schools and universities are cancelled due to dangerous weather conditions. Your safety and the safety of your baby, as well as the safety of our team, is of utmost importance. You can also view our cancellation updates on our Home Page. Please check before leaving home that clinic is still running during inclement weather. If you ever feel you’re unable to safely attend clinic, we urge you to rebook for another day or switch to a phone visit.
Prenatal Classes
Thames Valley Midwives offer private in-house prenatal classes quarterly run by one of our midwives.
Classes are uniquely designed to educate expectant parents on healthy pregnancy, labour and birth, and early parenting. Class size is limited in order to tailor sessions to the individualized needs of the group. Clients of all care providers are welcome.
Click below to find out more.
If you wish to explore other options, in London or the surrounding areas, we have a few more links listed on our resources page. Click below to find out more.
Booking Appointments
Thames Valley Midwives have an online booking system, which allows your midwives and administrative staff to book your prenatal and postnatal appointments in advance. There are times where midwives must cancel clinic in order to attend a birth, or in order to sleep after attending a birth that has occurred overnight. There are also times when a midwife must move clients to earlier or later appointment times due to other midwives requiring sleep from multiple births, and therefore they must also do the work of the sleeping midwife. When a clinic is cancelled, there will be a communication on our outgoing voicemail message in this regard.
We attempt to call clients when clinic is cancelled, however, we cannot always reach them in time. Please provide us with alternative telephone numbers in order to ensure that you can be contacted readily. We will attempt to find you an appointment that best suits your schedule but please be aware that this is not always possible.
Our first priorities are that you are seen in clinic according to the recommended schedule and that most of your appointments are with your primary and alternate midwives. Often this will mean that you need to have appointments during your workday. Your employer is required by law to provide the time for you to attend appointments. For clients who usually attend Aylmer or Woodstock clinics, we will do our best to schedule you in these locations. Due to limited clinic space in satellite clinics, we can almost guarantee that you will need to attend at least some appointments in the London office. We do not offer evening or weekend appointments.
Finally, there may be times when you have to wait to be seen. This is primarily due to clients presenting with unforeseen pregnancy complications and / or urgent calls your midwives answer frequently throughout the clinic day from other physicians. Our heightened cleaning procedures following visits with clients also add to the time your midwife has to prepare the room before you visit. Please keep in mind that this applies to you as well, should your midwife need to deal with such a circumstance related to your own pregnancy and runs late. In order to meet the COVID-19 requirements set out by WHO guidelines, we will perform some appointments over the phone to reduce the in-person exposure time.
Our Aylmer Clinic
Every Tuesday, we run a satellite clinic at our Aylmer location with our Elgin County team midwives (with the exception of holidays).
The Thames Valley Midwives clinic room is located in the back building of the East Elgin Family Health Centre at 424 Talbot Street West, Aylmer. There is a large, free parking lot and this location is wheelchair accessible. This location also has an on-site ultrasound department in a different building and a laboratory department in the basement.
The clinic room is the first door on the right after walking up the stairs of the main entrance and down the hallway. Please do not enter the building until your appointment time. You may knock on the door upon arrival, but please do not enter until the midwife opens the door. We often place a sign on our door to alert you to the correct room. You must be wearing a mask before entering the building, for the duration of your appointment, and until you exit the building.
There is no administration at this location, and our room leads directly into the midwife’s office.
Washrooms are located further down the hallway in the doctors waiting area. Please allow time to use them on your arrival as clinic time runs smoothly at this office due to limited appointment spots and thorough cleaning protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
We encourage you to book your appointments in a timely manner, as spots do fill up quickly at this location. Should there be no spots available, you will be asked to come to our London location for your appointment.
Our Woodstock Clinic
We run a satellite clinic three times a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at our Woodstock location with our Oxford county team midwives (with the exception of holidays).
The Thames Valley Midwives clinic room is within a health team office located on the North Side entrance at the Inside U Health Centre at 79 Montclair Drive, Woodstock. There is a free parking lot on-site and this location is wheelchair accessible. This location does not have a lab pick up but the Lifelabs laboratory is a 6 minute drive from the clinic.
There is no administration at this location, and therefore we ask that when you come to the clinic, you wait in your car until your appointment time. Your midwife will call you in from the general reception area at the time of your appointment. You DO NOT need to check in with the receptionist.
The washroom is located down the hallway from the entrance and reception area for patient use and is well sign posted. Please allow time to use them on your arrival as clinic time runs smoothly at this office due to limited appointment spots and thorough cleaning protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
We encourage you to book your appointments in a timely manner, as spots do fill up quickly at this location. Should there be no spots available, you will be asked to come to our London location for your appointment.
You must be wearing a mask before entering the building, for the duration of your appointment, and until you exit the building.
