Midwives are health professionals who provide complete care to pregnant and postpartum clients in a community setting. The path to midwifery is not a simple one. It begins with the midwifery program, a very selective, immersive and often grueling four to six year post-secondary program.

Being a midwifery student is both challenging and rewarding. It has added chaos and uncertainty to our day to day life, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. This past May, we both graduated from the Midwifery Education Program (MEP) at McMaster University, and we could not be happier.

I am writing to let you know about an exciting project I am involved in. I’m Sarilyn Zimmerman and some of you may know me as one of the midwives at The Midwives Clinic of East York Don Mills.

Chances are, if you’ve had a midwife, you’ve had a student around at some point. Midwifery is an apprenticeship-based profession: this means that students learn through active participation in all aspects of care, from prenatal appointments, to postpartum home visits, to births of all kinds (and at all times of the day and night!).

The Midwives Clinic of East York-Don Mills is proud to join midwives from across the province in celebrating the landmark decision from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) as a victory for Pay Equity and another important step along the road to ending discrimination for workers in marginalized communities everywhere!

Sixteen years ago, on December 27th, the first baby was born with the help of midwives from The Midwives Clinic of East York-Don Mills. He surprised everyone, especially his parents, by being born 4 weeks early.

We are a committed teaching practice that works with the students of the Midwifery Education Programs at Ryerson University, Laurentian University and McMaster University. Our students are active participants in all aspects of client care which gives them the experience needed to become skilled and competent graduates.

The class will help you feel more confident and prepared for labour, birth and life with your newborn. The class is taught by experienced and enthusiastic educator Sarilyn Zimmerman. Sarilyn, as a practicing midwife, has attended labour and births in the community for over 26 years