Community Resources
Indigenous Community Resources
Tkaronto Indigenous Peoples Portal: https://indigenousto.ca/
TBC’s Resource List
TBC hosts a Resource list to support midwives, clients and families to find supports that make having a baby and living in Toronto easier. You can access the list here!
Health Network for Uninsured Clients
https://www.hnuc.org/
Emotional Health and Well Being
Postpartum Depression is a US-based organization that provides “the latest up-to-date information and free resources for families in danger and at risk.” Please note the language throughout the website assumes that people who give birth are women who are co-parenting with a husband – we recognize this doesn’t represent all the TBC community. We offer it for anything you can take from it that is valuable to you.
Pregnant people, parents-to-be, people in the postpartum period, and new parents may experience many different emotions and feelings. These feelings can range from excitement and happiness to sadness and guilt. There are also times when these emotions can become so profound that a person can feel helpless, overwhelmed, or depressed. It is important to remember that bringing a baby into the world and becoming a parent are both big life changes! These feelings might be experienced at any time during pregnancy or within the first year after the birth of a baby or becoming a parent. Support during pregnancy, postpartum and new parenthood is key to helping with this transition.
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Student Offerings
As well as the prenatal class options in our Resource List, we are happy to share this recording by TBC Midwifery placement student, Shazeal:
Meditation is a way for us to connect to ourselves and ground us in our surroundings. Birth naturally draws us inwards and we connect more deeply. Meditating can help us feel grounded, safe, and able to navigate the changes. This meditation is a mix of guided relaxation and positive affirmations. I speak in a mix of English and Nehiyawin (cree).
Listen before or during birth to help you move through the cycles of labour. Repeat the affirmations out loud or in your head. Breathing in for a count of 4, holding for 7, and exhaling for 7 will help calm your mind and body. Please enjoy!
Shazeal is of mixed black and indigenous ancestry. Originally from Bigstone cree nation in Northern Alberta. She is currently studying midwifery in Ontario and is passionate about birth work.
From Midwifery student Maggie:
“I created this zine with the intention of sharing some useful somatic practices for folks to calm their nervous systems in times of stress. This was made with midwifery students, midwives, and birth attendants(partners, doulas, family members and BCAs) in mind. Knowing how to regulate one’s own nervous system in times of stress is an extremely important skill, especially in the birth space. I am so happy to share some of the brilliant teachers I am learning from. Please check them out!
I hope you enjoy dipping your toes into these practices, teachings and teachers!”
SomaticsZine2020 M Thomson-Kurz
