Bloom Midwives and Breastfeeding Center

I came to bloom midwives when I was 3 months in pregnancy. I just came from Germany and everything was so new. But Julia and especially Rashmi were so lovely and friendly that I had no concerns from the first moment on. Also Hannah from the reception is such a lovely person. She was always there when I had a question and helped me whenever I needed her help. Every visit at bloom midwives was like coming home! So great! During my whole pregnancy I felt safe and in competent hands. During the birth Rashmi was there and took care of me, my husband and finally our lovely baby girl. She was so great and I am so thankful for all she did for us!
Finally now our visits are over. We are a little bit sad, that the regular appointments are over, but I think we will meet again!!!
Thank you so much bloom midwives for everything! You really made my pregnancy much more easier so far away from home!

Loved the team I worked with (Julia and Rashmi). They were warm, compassionate and well-​versed. Felt I was given all sorts of pertinent information at appointments and overall, the experience was nothing short of 100% positive. In the days following the birth, our midwife really helped separate fact from fiction and made the entire hospital stay much more pleasurable. Both my husband and I can’t say enough good things about Bloom and the care we were given. Highly (highly!) recommended.

Thank you for the response. I do feel inclined to add a bit about my experience:
The type of forceps used to birth my baby are essentially banned now in the U.S. and U.K. They are used to rotate and extract the baby from high in the birth canal. They are well known to informed doctors to come with a very high risk of serious harm to the mother and baby. It’s not so easy to come by information about this type of forceps if you’re just a pregnant woman reading about standard delivery procedures — after all, they are not used anymore in other countries… You can find an online article saying: «High forceps deliveries, once used to deliver a baby that was still high in the pelvis, are no longer used since cesarean section is a much better option for delivery in this case.» But this is an American article. I should have expected that Canada still practices such an obsolete and barbaric procedure? And that under such circumstances I would not even be offered a C-​section, given that it is recognized as a «better option»?
My baby was known to be badly positioned at the end of pregnancy. I asked my midwives a few times about this, and no useful information was given to me at all. I was told that sometimes it just takes the force of labour to get the baby into position, and was given the impression there was nothing to worry about. Yet this would have been a very obvious time to discuss the possible use of this type of forceps, given that they are still — shamefully and inexplicably — being used in Canada.
I realize that the OB is ultimately the authority in an emergency situation. However, I had chosen midwife care in part because I thought I would be better off having someone familiar with me and my pregnancy to be able to assist me and my doctor in making decisions in the case of an emergency. I thought the midwife might step up to mention to me that I did have other options — better options — since it seems like one important way to support a women during labour. Perhaps this is not permitted or is discouraged. That’s something to consider when reading one of another reviewer’s comments, «…if you have a hospital delivery you still get OB and nurse care in addition to midwife care.» If you need the OB, you probably aren’t getting midwife care for the rest of delivery.
After my experience, I cannot recommend midwife care. At Bloom, they were very friendly and positive during my appointments, but in the end, I was given little useful practical advice before my birth, I was badly informed about the risks I had going into labour, and I received little or no support when my labour did not progress perfectly. I do not feel that the specifics of my pregnancy were considered. A midwife is probably wonderful during a perfect birth, but perfect births are impossible to plan and often enough don’t happen. I firmly believe I could have had a better outcome had my pregnancy been under the supervision of a trusted OB.

I received kind and supportive care through out the pregnancy, labour and delivery. I never felt rushed at appointments and I was given all the information I needed to make informed decisions that were right for me and my baby. The midwives operate in teams of two (you are assigned to a team) so there is always someone you know on call. They make ample home visits so you are well supported during labour and in the weeks following birth. They have hospital privileges at St Paul’s Hospital and BC Women’s. I am glad I went with midwives — as long as you are not high risk I think you get the best care this way as MWs spend more time with you than OBs are able too, plus if you have a hospital delivery you still get OB and nurse care in addition to midwife care.