How To Find A Midwife in Ontario

If it takes a village to raise a child, think of your midwife as the village guide—an essential care worker who stays with you during each stage of maternity care, from prenatal appointments to the delivery room and through the early postpartum period. Today, midwives provide this primary care to nearly 30,000 Ontario families every year, delivering roughly 20 percent of all newborns in the province.

However, expectant parents are now navigating a system under unprecedented strain. As of February 2026, the Association of Ontario Midwives (AOM), which represents the province's 1,100 midwives, reports that the profession has reached a critical retention crisis. Due to increasing burnout and ongoing compensation disputes with the Ministry of Health, one in seven midwives in Ontario is currently on leave from practice.

"Midwifery in Ontario is at a tipping point," according to the College of Midwives of Ontario. "We are concerned that, without intervention, this trend will continue, and Ontarians will be without access to midwifery care."

“We’re very, very high in demand,” said Manavi Handa, a registered midwife who previously served on the AOM’s Ontario Hospital Relations Taskforce. If you are an Ontario parent considering midwifery care, but are unsure or don’t know where to start, here’s the need-to-know.

Understanding midwifery care in Ontario

Registered midwives can serve as a primary healthcare provider for healthy mothers and their babies throughout a pregnancy. Meagan Furnivall, who heads the midwifery department at London Health Sciences Centre, says that one pillar of the midwifery philosophy is respecting a mom’s choice of birth, whether at home, in hospital or at a birthing centre. Additionally, many midwives act as a systems navigator for their clients.

“Because we offer a comprehensive, holistic approach to care, we treat women like they're whole people with whole people problems,” said Furnivall, noting that some clients may need virtual appointments to suit a busy schedule or referrals to mental health specialists, for example.

This client-centred approach also plays a role in the birthing education a midwife provides during prenatal care, where conversations are tailored to address a mother’s labour-related concerns.

“Some women are really scared of a C-section, some are really scared of the newborn not breathing, and some women are scared of having stitches,” she said. “You’re getting a lot of reassurance, a lot of education.”

Importantly, midwives can only serve as the primary healthcare provider for low-risk pregnancies. Furnivall says that some examples of high-risk pregnancy include twins, babies with abnormal ultrasounds and mothers with gestational diabetes or high blood pressure.

“We can conduct a vaginal birth,” said Furnivall. “We don't do forceps, we don't do vacuums, we don't do C-sections.” She adds that if complications arise during labour, midwives can transfer care to an obstetrician and resume caregiving once baby is delivered and the patients are not at risk.

What to expect at each stage

First and second trimester

According to Furnivall, the standard midwifery model allows pregnant moms to see their midwife once a month during the first two trimesters, usually beginning at eight to 12 weeks.

“Those early appointments are really just checking in and listening,” said Furnivall. She adds that at this stage, moms can expect conversations and education on nausea, vaccines in pregnancy, prenatal vitamins and booking ultrasounds.

In the second trimester, your midwife might also provide a pager to use in case of urgent concerns.

“We keep people out of the emergency department for things they don't need to go for,” said Furnivall, noting that midwives can order prescriptions for nausea or UTIs, for example.

Third trimester

Expect to see your midwife biweekly between 28 and 36 weeks, says Furnivall. After that, you can see the provider weekly until birth.

At this point, Furnivall says a midwife will discuss birth protocols and preferences, including common medications, standard procedures and pain management. This education is one way to reduce nerves in the delivery room.

“If you’re in labour and someone comes in and says, ‘We’re going to now recommend all these things that you’ve never even heard of,’ that’s where you see more birth trauma,” she said.

Labour and birth

In addition to delivering babies during low-risk pregnancies, Furnivall says that midwives can stitch up clients who need a first or second-degree vaginal repair.

In the case of shared care — where clients see a few midwives throughout their pregnancy — Handa says that any of the providers may be present during labour. “It's not like the obstetric model, where it might be any one of 10 people,” she said. “It is still people that you know.”

Postpartum

Furnivall says that your midwife might provide home visits on days one, three and five after birth. At this stage, expect to debrief the delivery process and discuss breastfeeding, sleep and comfort.

“It's such a luxury to have someone visit you at home,” added Handa. “We look at the mother-baby dyad together and we care for both postpartum.”

Midwives will also weigh the baby and check on a birthing parent in-clinic at two, four and six weeks postpartum. Generally, clients have more time with their midwife than with an obstetrician, according to Handa.

“Our average appointments are anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes, whereas an average obstetrician appointment can be five to seven minutes,” she said. “That is nothing bad about obstetricians or their care, it's just a different model.”

When to seek a midwife in Ontario

Ontario-based experts say that, to secure a midwife, begin reaching out to practices as early in your pregnancy as possible. 

“The joke is pee on the stick, find out you're pregnant, call your midwife, and then call your husband or partner,” said Furnivall, adding that finding a midwife early-on allows the professional to order time-sensitive tests and ultrasounds. 

Kelly Dobbin, registrar and CEO at the College of Midwives of Ontario (CMO), says that while waitlists are long, some practices hold spots for people who decide to work with a midwife later in pregnancy.

“You can be on five waitlists,” said Handa. “We know that happens, and that's totally fine. We'd rather you find your midwife anywhere than wait for us.”

How to find a midwife

To look for a practitioner, check out the AOM’s Find a Midwife tool. Simply enter your postal code to view all the midwifery clinics servicing your area, then fill out an intake form. Handa says that, in addition to using this database, she recommends asking local parents for midwife recommendations.

While weighing the options, Dobbin says that parents can look up a potential midwife on the CMO’s Public Register to verify that the professional meets their required qualifications.

Do you need to pay for a midwife?

Midwifery is an integrated part of Ontario’s healthcare system and, according to the Ministry of Health, is provided free of charge to residents of the province. Notably, Dobbin adds that people with refugee status are also eligible to receive the service.

Handa adds that certain prescriptions or home-birth kits are potential out-of-pocket costs associated with prenatal care.

Navigating midwife waitlists

Finding out you’re pregnant is thrilling, but staring down a months-long midwifery waitlist can quickly turn that joy into stress. Demand for midwifery care in Ontario has surged in recent years—nearly tripling since 2019–20. In the 2023–24 cycle alone, more than 17,000 people were placed on waitlists, and over 6,600 families who requested midwifery care ultimately received other maternity care instead.

So if you make the call and hear that your local Midwifery Practice Group (MPG) is full, take a deep breath. Being waitlisted doesn’t always mean you’re out of options.

Your next move is to ask about expanded or alternative midwifery programs in your area.

What are expanded midwifery care models?

Ontario has been funding Expanded Midwifery Care Models (EMCMs) to help address the growing demand for midwives. These programs allow registered midwives to work outside the traditional standalone clinic model and instead integrate into hospitals and primary care teams.

In practical terms, that means you may still be able to access midwifery care through other pathways.

Here are a few places it might show up.

Interprofessional primary care teams

Some midwives work alongside physicians, nurses and other providers in Community Health Centres (CHCs) or Family Health Teams. These collaborative clinics can sometimes offer midwifery care even when independent midwifery practices are full.

Hospital-based midwifery programs

Certain hospitals have midwives working directly in the hospital setting, for example, in triage roles, labour support programs, or hospital-based midwifery teams. These programs vary by region but can provide additional access to midwifery expertise during labour and birth.

Postpartum-focused midwifery care

Even if your pregnancy or birth is managed by an OB-GYN, some programs offer midwife-led postpartum care, including home visits and newborn support in the first weeks after birth. Availability varies, but it can be a valuable option if you're looking for hands-on support during the fourth trimester.

The question that can open doors

If a clinic tells you they’re full, try asking: “Do you know of any expanded midwifery programs or hospital-based midwifery services in the area?” Receptionists and clinic coordinators often know about programs that don’t always show up in a quick Google search.

In a system where demand is high and spots fill quickly, sometimes the difference between getting care and staying on a waitlist comes down to knowing which questions to ask and asking them early.

Indigenous midwifery services

Notably, Aboriginal midwives practicing in their communities are not required to be members of the CMO, so you may not see them on the public register.

Trista Hill is an Indigenous midwife and mom of four who was raised on the Six Nations of the Grand River territory. She says that Indigenous midwives are often trained on intergenerational trauma and have an understanding of Indigenous health disparities, allowing them to provide a unique form of culturally-competent care.

Indigenous midwives might also incorporate traditional practices into their service, such as cedar baths for newborns. According to Hill, a parent can hold pieces of cedar while praying or wishing good thoughts for their infant. “Once the cedar is released into the water, it will cover baby and be received,” she said. “The significance of cedar in Indigenous culture is cleansing and protection.”

Another common practice is burying the placenta after birth, if the earth is soft enough to dig a hole. “It is a symbol of giving thanks, Nia:weh, to our Mother Earth for helping us to create and sustain life during pregnancy,” explained Hill.

For more information on Indigenous midwifery, check out the National Council of Indigenous Midwives.

Experts

• Trista Hill is an Indigenous Midwife at the Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre.
• Kelly Dobbin is the registrar and CEO at the College of Midwives of Ontario.
• Manavi Handa is a registered midwife and an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University's midwifery education program.
• Meagan Furnivall is a registered midwife and the head of London Health Sciences Centre's department of midwifery.