The Birth Centre
The Birth Centre is at 603 St. Mary’s Road in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
For more information about programs & services at the Birth Centre, please see Frequently Asked Questions below or call us:
204-594-0900 (in Winnipeg)
1-866-947-1517 (toll-free outside Winnipeg)
Download our Birth Centre brochure (billingual) here.
Please click the link for a photo tour of the Birth Centre on Flickr.
The Birth Centre is now a milk drop site for NorthernStar Mothers Milk Bank and will start accepting donations from screened donors on January 4th, 2016. If you would like to donate, call 1-403-475-6455 or visit www.northernstarmilkbank.ca to get the process started and to find out more information.
You can also visit our FAQ section about milk donation here.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Birth Centre
What services does the Birth Centre offer?
The Birth Centre offers clients and their families a range of primary maternity services. These include:
- prenatal, pregnancy and postpartum care by midwives
- counselling services
- health education programs on parenting and newborn care
What are the features of the Birth Centre?
The Birth Centre offers people a comfortable, home-like setting to give birth. Each of the four large birthing rooms has a large shower and tub, a double bed, and comfortable chairs for those who support the client through the birth.
The Birth Centre also has a lounge with a kitchen where families and support people can wait and rest when attending a birth.
Clinical facilities and meeting spaces are also available at the Birth Centre.
Who provides services at the Birth Centre?
The primary care providers are midwives registered with the College of Midwives of Manitoba and employed by the Winnipeg Health Region. While there are some permanent midwife positions at the Birth Centre, any midwife employed by the Winnipeg Health Region can provide clinical and birthing services to their clients at the Birth Centre.
Please note: There are no doctors on staff at the Birth Centre.
Birth Centre support staff includes birth centre assistants, health educators, counsellors, and administrative staff.
How can I give birth at the Birth Centre?
People who want to birth at the Birth Centre must be:
- in the primary care of a registered midwife employed by the Winnipeg Health Region
- healthy and having a normal and uncomplicated pregnancy
- assessed to be sure they meet standards set by the College of Midwives of Manitoba for a safe out-of-hospital birth
Please click the link for information on how to get a WRHA midwife or call Centralized Intake for Midwifery at 204-947-2422 ext. 307.
Please click the link to see the College of Midwives Standard for Planned Out of Hospital Birth.
What is the Birth Centre’s plan for emergencies?
Each birth room has the supplies and equipment needed to manage a normal birth, including non-urgent complications. In an emergency, the parent and baby will be transferred to the most appropriate hospital. The Birth Centre has a special entrance for easy access if emergency vehicles are needed.
Midwifery Intake
Our intake line is still open. Please call us at 204-947-2422 ext. 307 or submit a midwifery interest form on our website at https://whcbirthcentre.com/findamidwife/ if you would like to request a midwife.
Scheduled Appointments
We are proceeding with midwifery appointments. Some appointments may be done over the phone and some will be done in person.
You will receive a screening call before your first appointment and also be screened in-person when you attend your appointments. You will be asked if you have:
- Had cold or flu-like symptoms (cough, fever, runny nose, sore throat, weakness or headache),
- Returned from travel outside Manitoba (excluding travel to Western Canada, the Territories or Ontario west of Terrace Bay) in the last 14 days?
- Had *exposure to a confirmed COVID-19 case within 14 day? , (Note: *Exposure may include scenarios or settings like: large events with confirmed case(s) of COVID-19.)
- Had close contact with someone being tested for COVID-19 at this time,
- Been instructed to self-isolate or self-monitor for 14 days
If any of the questions above apply to you, a midwife will discuss options about having the visit in your home or in hospital. During home visits, midwives will wear personal protective equipment.
If your answers to any of the questions above change at any time, please notify your midwife ASAP.
Only the pregnant person and one support person will be allowed to attend appointments. We currently are not offering childminding at the Birth Centre. If you have more than one support person, they will be asked to wait outside, so please plan accordingly.
We strongly encourage handwashing and social distancing. We will be asking you to sanitize your hands upon arrival and to maintain social distancing with reception staff.
Labour and Delivery
All pregnant people and each support person will be pre-screened during admission. You may be redirected to the hospital for labour and birth if the screening questions apply to you. Currently a pregnant person can have up to 2 support people with them for their labour and delivery at the Birth Centre. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your midwife.
NorthernStar Mothers Milk Bank Drop Site
We are still accepting milk donations but call us first at 204-594-0900. (If you are a first-time donor or want to donate, visit NorthernStar at www.northernstarmilkbank.ca and call them at 1-403-475-6455 BEFORE calling us or coming to the Birth Centre).
Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS)
The UNHS program is seeing clients at the Birth Centre. Clients will be pre-screened over the phone in advance of their appointment and screened in-person when they attend the appointment. Clients can have one support person come to their appointment with them.
For more information on the Birth Centre:
Birth Centre Principles of Service [PDF]
For more information on the Birth Centre, please contact us: whc@womenshealthclinic.org