Midwifery students may be involved in your care. If your midwife has a student working with them, they will ask your permission to have the student present for your visits and your birth.

The students with placements at our practice are from the Midwifery Education Program (MEP) in Ontario. The MEP is a 4-year bachelor’s degree in health sciences. The student is assigned to work with preceptors on either the blue or green team.  Students play an active role in client care.  They work alongside their preceptors in clinic, at home visits, and at births. They also answer pages and consult with their mentors about their care management plans.

There are many benefits of having a student involved in your care including:

• An extra pair of hands to provide labour support, or offer your partner a break at your birth.
• Continuity of care! Although you will have the opportunity to get to know all the midwives on your team, students will be in clinic as much they can for learning opportunities. Clients often develop a special relationship with their students.
• Midwifery students are learning the most up-to-date information, and are eager to research the most current evidence to answer any questions or concerns you may have.
• Energy and enthusiasm! Students are ready to work hard, passionate about midwifery, eager to go the extra mile, and bring fresh perspective.
• Your feedback helps students learn and become skilled, knowledgeable, and compassionate midwives.
• By having a midwifery student, you help ensure other birthing parents will have to have the option for midwifery care in the future.

A midwife teacher will always be present and nearby when you are with a student. Midwifery students are always supervised according to their skill level. It’s always your choice if you would like a student involved in your care. We always suggest you try meeting the student and see how you feel. We think students are great, and we think you will too!

Fundamentals I and II Students

Students in their NC placement are with the practice for 24 weeks spread over 7 months. This placement focuses on the development of midwifery skills and providing care in normal and variations of normal situations. It is a combination hands-on learning and distance education. This includes doing pre- and postnatal care, taking phone calls from clients, monitoring labours, catching babies and doing newborn exams. All of the care that the student provides will be under careful supervision.

This is their first placement in the program, and they are clinical beginners. During the first 1.5 years of the MEP, students complete a pre-clinical curriculum that includes science, social sciences and basic midwifery philosophy/skills. They’ve also had the opportunity to observe midwifery clinic, attend births in an observer role, and practice in simulated situations with standardized patients and on each other to ensure they are ready to be involved in client care.

Senior Students

Senior students are in their fourth year of the MEP and focusing their studies on complex clinical care, while finessing their midwifery skills in their final semesters before becoming full-fledged midwives themselves! They are with our practice for a calendar year. They will often be found working independently (for example, attending postpartum home visits and answering pages alone), but are still paired with a team of mentor midwives for support and accountability.

Current Student Biographies

Hello! My name is Anna, and I am thrilled to begin my senior midwifery placement at Maternity Care Midwives in Thunder Bay! 

Before starting my midwifery journey at McMaster University in 2022, I studied biology at the University of Manitoba while working and teaching dance within the Franco-Manitoban community. My passion for midwifery was first sparked by the care my mother received during the births of my three younger siblings. As I grew older, my appreciation for the midwifery model deepened as I came to understand its profound impact on birthing families. 

Outside of midwifery, I love exploring new places through hiking and have recently started teaching myself to bead. 

A heartfelt thank you to the families who generously share their experiences with midwifery students and to the midwives who offer their knowledge and guidance. It is a privilege to be welcomed into your care, and I look forward to learning from and with this community.