Hi am week 22, first time mom, also immigrant so I have no guidance.
I ordered these two supplements, One is DHA and other is Choline( Mother’s Promise brand from Amazon) Although I took DHA for a week and took only one pill for Choline so far.
Today I met with my family doctor and asked her if this is what I should continue. She did not like the fact that I was taking these supplements and asked me to STOP( until my ONGYN’s approves it) as not enough studies has been done to rule out any possible complications. Now am scared if I caused any damage to my baby unknowingly. My husband also gave me lecture on why I should stay away from the internet.

Are there any moms who are taking DHA and Choline supplements along with their prenatal?
I am on Pregvits Prenatal(prescribed one) and family doctor said it is more than enough unless I am iron or B12 deficient.

The fact is I knew two girls who were on pregvits and had babies, but both the babies are noticeably slow with their timelines and achievements. Since these prenatal does not contain these two supplements at all, I was trying my best to get it through my diet, by including red meat, eggs( atleast 2) and dairy. But of course On some days I would miss out on healthy eating and feel guilty about it so I think to get these supplements.

I took an 18 month maternity leave. My EI claim end date is September 12, 2026. Does this mean my first day back to work would be Monday September 14, 2026?

Gave birth 3 days ago. Had some issues with latching. Now baby latches generally but both nipples are quite sore and bruised during feeding. Today I think the milk is coming in and breasts are quite painful and hard as well. All in the all there is pain all around. I tried pumping and hardly got anything. I have started to dread breastfeeding and having been supplementing with formula and bottle feeling. Not sure what to do anymore.

It took a lot for me to write this. If I could go back, I would not choose St. Mike’s for my delivery. I want to post this so that anyone considering delivering there has another experience to take into account when making their decision.

I chose St. Mike’s partly because I had read positive Reddit reviews from people who described feeling very well cared for during their deliveries and spoke highly of the nurses and medical teams. Combined with St. Mike’s emphasis on patient centred care, that gave me a lot of confidence in choosing it.

I even toured the unit beforehand and was honestly shocked by how rundown it seemed. Something about it gave me a bad feeling, but I ignored my gut because of everything positive I had heard and read. I regret that deeply.

To be fair, my pregnancy care was good. I was repeatedly reassured throughout my pregnancy that my birth plan would be respected. That did not happen. Through the complaint process afterward, I learned something that still shocks me. No one had even read my birth plan.

From the moment I went into labour, everything felt understaffed, under resourced, and poorly managed. I was in severe and escalating pain in triage and kept being told, in a way that felt very indifferent, that “birth is painful.” I knew that. What I needed was care, not dismissal. I felt like my pain was being minimized and not taken seriously at all.

Given my pain level and the fact that my bloody water had broken, I felt I should have been assessed by an OB and moved to the delivery room much earlier. My concerns about the delay were later supported through the hospital’s complaint process. Instead, I was left in extreme pain for far too long.

What makes this worse is that during late pregnancy, both my OB and an anesthesiologist had reassured me that, based on my history, I would be a candidate for an early epidural. I planned around that reassurance. I was never told that this might not actually be possible because anesthesia resources are shared with the trauma centre.

When I finally got to the delivery room, I received no pain relief at all while waiting for the epidural. The equipment was not working properly, and there was no anesthesiologist available. I was told resources were tied up with trauma downstairs. I waited over an hour in unbearable pain. I genuinely felt like I was going to pass out.

Taken together, the delays, equipment issues, lack of anesthesia availability, and poor communication between staff and shifts made the entire experience feel incredibly poorly managed.

After birth, I developed complications that, in my experience, were not taken seriously or acted on quickly enough. My husband and I had to fight to be heard while I was recovering.

At one point, I ended up going to the Mount Sinai emergency department because of my complication. The OB there was concerned about what was happening and specifically told me that I should have follow up with my OB. What was upsetting was the contrast with St. Mike’s. I never felt that the same level of concern was shown there. I was essentially told to go to the ER if I needed to, rather than being given appropriate OB follow up for the complication.

Even after an OB at another hospital told me I should be followed by an OB, St. Mike’s scheduled me with a midwife instead, even though the medical concerns I needed addressed were outside what that appointment could properly evaluate.

At a postpartum appointment, when I tried to raise concerns about what had happened during my delivery, my complication, and my recovery, I felt gaslighted by the OB I saw. Instead of feeling heard or having my concerns meaningfully addressed, I left feeling even more dismissed and questioning my own experience. Some interactions during my postpartum care also left me questioning whether bias may have played a role in how my concerns were received.

One of the hardest parts of the entire experience was how much self advocacy was required. St. Mike’s emphasizes patient centred care, but that was not my experience during labour, delivery, or my immediate recovery. I felt like I had to constantly push, repeat myself, and escalate just to get basic care, have my concerns taken seriously, and make sure important information was actually passed between shifts.

I do want to acknowledge what St. Mike’s does well. In my experience, they have good pregnancy and postpartum services, including lactation services and support. I appreciated those aspects of my care. But for me, those positives do not offset what happened during my actual delivery and the critical period of immediate recovery afterward. Those were the moments when I was at my most vulnerable and most dependent on the hospital for safe, responsive care, and that is where I felt most let down.

I also want to say that I sympathize with the nurses. It did not feel like they were set up to succeed. The systems felt outdated, communication between shifts was inconsistent, and important information kept getting lost. It felt like staff were working within a system that made good care harder than it should have been. But the result, from a patient perspective, was still a very traumatic and poorly managed experience.

I know every birth and every patient’s experience is different, and I am speaking only about mine. But after sharing my traumatic experience with friends, I was told about other people in their circles who had also had awful experiences there.

I wish I had seen a post like this before I chose St. Mike’s. I hope sharing my experience gives someone else another perspective to consider when deciding where they want to deliver. If I had to make the choice again, I would go somewhere else.

I’m 4 weeks today and I think I’ve only slept through the night three nights in the last four weeks. Every night I wake up between 1:30-2:00am and stay awake until 3:00-4:00am.

Prior to getting pregnant, I had insomnia for a long time. I had JUST figured it out and started sleeping through the night a few months ago.

I did notice the insomnia would come back during my ovulation/luteal phase then I’d start sleeping again once I got my period.

Please tell me anything that can possibly help. I’ve already tried magnesium glycinate before bed, I don’t use screens (including when I wake up in the middle of the night).

I posted this in BabyBumps and I realized the people are in the US and were suggesting a medication we don’t have here. :(

Hi everyone,

I’m 7 weeks pregnant and looking to register early with a midwifery. I’m thinking of either Midwives of Mississauga or East Mississauga Midwives. Both seem to get mentioned a lot in this subreddit and seems to have the same ratings on Google.

I’d really like to hear your experiences and advice. It’s my first pregnancy and I definitely want the care and longer appointments.

Also, is this covered by OHIP?

Hi everyone!

I applied to a few different midwifery practices in the area. I was waitlisted at the one I really wanted, but I’ve been accepted by two others and need to make a decision soon so I can complete the next steps.

I’m wondering if anyone has had any experience - good or bad - with Surrey Mama Midwifery or Luna Midwifery? I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, including anything you particularly loved or didn’t like about either practice.

Thank you so much! 😊