Last updated on February 22, 2023 Nearly one in eight pregnancies in Ontario are to people with a disability; however, pregnancy care is not often structured to address their needs. In 2022, PCMCH collaborated with researchers from the University of Toronto to develop evidence-based resources to support healthy pregnancies, birthing experiences and postpartum outcomes for …
Last updated on August 11, 2022 The Standards of Postnatal Care report was released in 2018 to articulate the standards of postnatal care for mothers/parents and newborns in the first seven days following birth. Approximately 140,000 babies are born in Ontario each year. With the trend towards earlier discharges and in the context of rising …
Last updated on February 9, 2023 PCMCH has developed resources to support patients, families and healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. PCMCH’s resources on this page include: general care guidelines for healthcare providers to standardize clinical care of pregnant or breastfeeding individuals and their newborns during the pandemic; webinars on a range of COVID-19-related subjects; …
Last updated on December 19, 2022 The Safe Administration of Oxytocin guideline report, developed by PCMCH in 2019, outlines best practice recommendations for the safe management of pregnant patients whose labour is induced or augmented with the medication oxytocin. The objective of the report is to reduce the risk of misuse and/or mismanagement of oxytocin …
Last updated on October 27, 2022 Maintaining mental health is important to the well-being of pregnant and postpartum individuals. PCMCH’s Care Pathway for the Management of Perinatal Mental Health (July 2021) and accompanying Guidance Document (July 2021), support healthcare providers in identifying pregnant or postpartum patients who may be experiencing mental health issues, assess the severity …
Last updated on October 27, 2022 The Vaginal Birth after Caesarean (VBAC) Quality Standard provides information about caring for people who have had a Caesarean birth and are planning their next birth. These quality standards aim to improve access to safe vaginal birth after Caesarean delivery and promote informed shared decision-making. PCMCH and Health Quality …
Last updated on March 26, 2022 Substance use during pregnancy is a risk factor for negative pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. Infants at risk for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) are also at increased risk for pre-term birth, low birth weight and intrauterine growth restriction. Substance use in pregnancy is also a marker for social and environmental …
Last updated on October 21, 2022 The Quality-Based Procedures (QBP) for Low Risk Birth were developed as part of the Ontario Health System Funding Reform (HSFR) initiative. The QBPs for Low Risk Birth aim to address the variation in caesarean section rates across the province in the low-risk patient, promote normal birth and improve patient …
Last updated on August 5, 2022 Neonatal follow-up plays a critical role in Ontario’s healthcare system, monitoring and offering early intervention for high-risk infants with varying diagnoses. The Neonatal Follow-Up Program (NFUP) refers to neonatal follow-up clinics collectively that are part of a larger collaborative provincial system. PCMCH has developed NFUP resources with the aims …
Last updated on March 26, 2022 In 2018, PCMCH reviewed low-volume, rural and remote intrapartum services and completed an analysis of access to safe and high-quality intrapartum care services in lower-volume centres (less than 500 births a year) across Ontario. The gap analysis used a mixed-methods approach, including: An environmental scan Interviews with representatives from …
