Local Resources:
Midwifery Care
Doula Support
Diaper Services
Midwifery Care
Registered midwives in Ontario provide comprehensive primary care to
healthy, low-risk women through all stages of their pregnancy and
birth, and continue to care for both mother and baby for up to six
weeks postpartum. The cost of midwifery service is covered by OHIP. Couples who have chosen midwifery care enjoy the time and care the midwives devote to them during the prenatal appointments, the birth, and the first 6 weeks after baby is born. Midwives attend births primarily at the hospital but also attend home births at the couples' choosing. Midwifery care is safe and makes sense for low-risk pregnancies!! No matter what stage of pregnancy you are at, if you'd like to switch to midwifery care, please call the local midwifery offices and see if they have room to take you on.
Family Midwifery Care of Guelph
319 Speedvale East
Guelph, Ontario N1E 1N4
519-763-8568
web http://www.familymidwiferycare.ca
Guelph Midwives
176 Wyndham St. North, Suite 3
Guelph ON N1H 8N9
Tel: 519 823-9785
Fax: 519 823-9251
web http://www.sentex.net/~guelphmw/
Doula Support
Doulas work with an expecting couple by supporting them with their birth plan before, during, and after the birth. They are on-call to attend your birth with you, providing support to the laboring parents and assisting you with breastfeeding and newborn care. Doula support helps to reduce rates of interventions, while increasing a couples' enjoyment of the birth. Doulas work privately and thus need to charge for services to be able to continue supporting expecting couples.
Monique McCardle has been passionate about birth since 1996, and has been working as a doula since 2006. She also offers birth pools for rent, pregnancy support, and photographic throughout the birth. Monique is a compassionate presence, and goes the extra mile to help her clients.
For more information about her services:
website www.guelphdoula.com
Meredith Ballaban is a doula and has been helping Moms and babies since 2003. She offers doula support prenatally, during the birth, and post-natally. She rents out birth pools as well as TENS machines.
You can contact Meredith via:
phone: 519.787.8575
web: www.doulameredith.com
e-mail: doulameredith@sympatico.ca
Diaper Service
Cloth diapers do not have to be hard work!! Diaper services give you all the benefits of disposable diapers, but help save the environment also. Did you know that every disposable diaper ever worn sits in a landfill to this day? It's estimated to take 400 years or more for disposable diapers to break down, and that's not taking into consideration all the trees that are cut down and the chemicals used in the production of disposable diapers. Now - don't get me wrong - I have used disposables with my children at varying times for varying reasons. Disposable diapers have filled a huge niche in our society - where we once had extended family around to help out with the work of new baby care, now we're on our own. The less work the better!! But, if you're open to it, a diaper service is just as easy, but so much better for the environment, and possibly baby too.
Myths about diaper services:
Myth #1: You have to rinse the diapers.
Not true!! Send them back just how they come off the baby if you wish. Pick-up is once a week - store them in a diaper pail and then transfer to the plastic storage bag they provide as the diaper pail fills up.
Myth #2: Storing cloth diapers smells badly.
If you've lived in Guelph and survived the green bag system, then storing cloth diapers will be super easy. I never used deoderant pucks and kept my diaper pail in the living room. I simply emptied it when it got full and kept the lid on. Now my green garbage in the summer on a hot night when I've forgotten to put out the trash for a week - that smells!
Myth #3: Changing baby's diaper away from home is too difficult if they're in cloth diapers.
Changing a baby on the go is not any more difficult with cloth diapers - you need wipes, a fresh diaper, and a place to put the dirty diaper. This is where plastic grocery bags come in really handy. Remember - you won't always be able to throw out dirty disposable diapers when you're on the run...Auntie Em may not be pleased to find a true blow-out diaper squished into her garbage, no matter how many bags you wrap it in!! So you'll need a system to transport dirty diapers on the run, no matter what kind of diapers you're using. Just remember, either way, to empty your diaper bag when you get home!!
Myth #4: Baby's will get more/less diaper rashes in cloth diapers.
Most babies do well in whatever diaper they're in!! In my experience, for those babies that do react to their diaper, baby's skin and diaper tolerance differs based on the baby. Some need frequent diaper changes, no matter what kind of diaper they're in. Cloth diapering parents tend to change their baby's diapers more often, since they know baby will "feel" the wetness. Some baby's respond better to cloth (vs. plastic), so do better in cloth diapers. Some baby's do not respond well to the wetness against their skin, so do better with disposables. It's always worth starting with cloth, and then using disposable only if you have to.
Myth #5: Diaper service is expensive.
Not true!! They average less than $20 per week, which is less expensive than disposables.
Bear Bottoms Diaper Service
Bear bottoms offers fitted cloth diapers to the Guelph area, which means that the diapers have snaps and fit around baby like a disposable. Still needs a waterproof cover, which can be a wrap-around or a pull-up style. Great service for those of you who want to try cloth diapers, but would like a "disposable diaper" experience.
web www.bearbottoms.ca
Toll Free: 1-877-423-2726
Comfy Cotton Diaper Service
Comfy Cotton diaper service offers pre-folded flat cloth diapers to the Guelph area. These need to be put on baby with a wrap-around water-proof cover, or else pinned together around baby and then used with any kind of water-proof cover. (pull-up or wrap-around).
web www.comfycotton.ca
Phone: 905-940-8118
Toll Free:888-759-3945
