The Department of Midwifery has been researching ways to support patients / clients of LHSC in achieving physiological births.

Physiological birth, or natural labour and birth, can be described as spontaneous where minimal intervention and less invasive monitoring is required to achieve a completely unmedicated experience. Parents give birth spontaneously without an epidural or other obstetric intervention unless it’s medically necessary. The client is free to birth and labour in a position of comfort using techniques or tools that promote natural progression of labour.

In partnership with midwives and nurses, our working group have accumulated ideas pulled from all over the world, where as leaders and visionaries in the health care field, we can work towards reducing unnecessary interventions and implement natural birthing techniques to improve parent satisfaction and improve health outcomes for the birthing parents we care for.

To establish which techniques would be the most helpful/popular, and given the constraints of budget and the current utilization/layout of the birthing room, we have developed a survey to capture as many aspects as possible for what health care providers could expect now and in the future of Obstetrical care. 

Starting December 1st 2024, birthing rooms 200 – 206 will have some availability of the following items – 

• Birthing mats to support labour and birth in floor positions such as hands and knees, kneeling, squatting.
• Star projector night lights for in the bathrooms capable of playing music via bluetooth.
• New handheld dopplers for intermittent auscultation.
• Fans for hot birthing parents (or hot health care providers!)

We will be seeking feedback and other ideas from you about these fabulous new tools and how well or not so well they have worked for your families in labour. If these tools are successful, the goal to secure further funding will be our next step. 

Here are just a couple of snippets of other parts of the world and how their birthing rooms look all in a hospital setting. Don’t be fooled, all machines like CEFM, Panda for baby resus, etc is hidden behind panels, curtains, cupboards.