A group of seven female doctors is listening to what expectant women living in Squamish want out of their prenatal, delivery and postpartum care.
The family doctors’ Mountain Maternity Group is providing a handful of nontraditional options including post-partum home visits, longer appointment times, coordination with local doulas, prenatal information nights with guest speakers and group sessions to meet other expectant mothers.
“This group was developed to encourage women to stay with their primary care provider for their prenatal care, delivery and postpartum care,” said Dr. Rachel Kelly, one of the seven doctors in the group. “We strongly believe in continuity of care for our patients and their families, from birth to elderly care.”
Another of the group’s goals is to provide women throughout the Sea to Sky Corridor with options for natural holistic births and also give the choice for pain medication, such as epidurals, if desired.
As family doctors, they can also address non-pregnancy related issues during prenatal care visits and see women with more complicated medical backgrounds.
The doctors with Mountain Maternity Group are aiming to have their patients stay with them throughout their pregnancy, labour, delivery and postpartum.
“There is often a fundamental relationship between a woman and her family doctor and we want this to be fostered during the pregnancy period, not lost to another care provider,” said Kelly. While the majority of women stay with their family doctor, 15 per cent of women in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, which covers Squamish, had a midwife deliver their baby last year, according to a report by Perinatal Services BC.
Patients will see the same doctor about 14 times before giving birth with the doctor who is on call at that time.
“We want moms to know that they can have a natural birth in a hospital environment, if they want that. Or they can have drugs – it’s up to them,” said Dr. Lynzie Taylor, adding that they will be working with local doulas, which the patient pays for, and will provide breastfeeding support. For the mother’s convenience, in-home postpartum visits are an option, but moms can also stop by the clinic.
“A lot of patients don’t realize we offer all these services, and we want them to know that they have these options.”
Mountain Maternity Group’s doctors – Carin Strydom, Lorraine Pelser, Kristen Siemens, Grace Tavares, and Meghan Illingworth, as well as Taylor and Kelly – are working out of their clinics, Diamond Head Medical Clinic, Elaho Medical Clinic and Squamish Medical Clinic, and are now accepting new patients.
