Client Intake Form: Initial Early Prenatal Care, After Birth Postpartum Services

BC residents have the choice of having primary prenatal care with either a doctor, nurse practitioner, or a midwife.  Vera Berard only offers two services that are covered by MSP:  Initial  Early Prenatal Care and Afterbirth Postpartum Services that are a mixture of remote,  home visits and office visits.  Appointments are scheduled for 30-60 minutes and are individualised to a client’s needs.  

AFTER BIRTH POSTPARTUM SERVICES:

If you are pregnant and have a doctor providing your prenatal, labor and birth care, you are eligible to enrol in midwifery, postpartum services for 6 to 7 weeks after birth to support your healing, how you feed your baby, your understanding of early infant development and your early parenting. 

You can self-refer into Vera’s practice during your pregnancy by completing the intake form alongside this panel.  Enrolling clients during their pregnancies is Vera’s preferred way of establishing her course load, as it enables an opportunity to make a prenatal connection and get to know a client’s preferences prebirth and for Vera to know her capacity in advance.    

Vera’s Postpartum Care includes:

• One visit with Vera in your 3rd trimester to meet and communicate your intentions for nurturing and parenting your baby, and to discover how Vera can best support your needs. Your doctor and the hospital birthing unit will receive a consultation, communication report about this visit. 
• At least 5-6 visits in the 6 weeks after the birth of your baby, with half or more of these visits taking place in your home. 
• During visits, both you and your baby will have a primary-care physical assessment.
• Support and education are also provided.
• Referral to specialist or community care as needed.
• Once you have confirmed with Vera that she can take you into her practice. The services described above are covered by MSP. Your responsibility is to inform your doctor that you have engaged an afterbirth postpartum midwife.
• When your baby is born, your next responsibility is to email Vera before you are discharged from hospital, so that she can arrange your first afterbirth home visit before you leave hospital. 

You can also submit an intake form within the first few days after birth, by completing her intake form on this page. Vera is glad to accept a new parent into her postpartum services within the first few days of their baby’s birth. who either self-refers, or is referred by a nursing, physician or midwife colleague depending on her capacity in the moment.

INITIAL EARLY PRENATAL CARE:

If you are just pregnant and wondering what to do next. You have the choice of having your pregnancy confirmed by either your family doctor, a walk-in clinic or you could have an experienced midwife involved in your care, who can bridge the time from discovering you are pregnant until you access ongoing prenatal, labor and birth care with either another midwife, or a doctor and Vera transfers your care

Vera’s Prenatal Services are an MSP phase of care that include:

• Two remote visits to confirm your pregnancy and discuss your questions.
• One or possibly more in-person visits, depending on when a person transfers care to an ongoing prenatal, labor and birth provider.  During in person visits, besides addressing a client’s questions, physical assessment takes place, including listening to the fetal heart.
• Vera provides requisitions and interpretation of routine prenatal and optional prenatal genetic screening tests, life-style counseling, pregnancy, labor, birth + postpartum information, community resource information, referral services when needed and reassurance.
• Since Vera no longer provides labor and birth services.   An early prenatal care client’s last visit with Vera is  scheduled around 13 weeks or 25 weeks, depending on a client’s choice of timing to transfer to ongoing care.  Records are faxed after their last scheduled appointment with Vera to an ongoing prenatal and birth provider’s office  and care transferred to begin with a client’s next provider around 17 weeks, or by 29 weeks of pregnancy. .
• When a client is accepted into an ongoing provider’s care, the process is to inform your next midwife or doctor that you are in Vera’s prenatal care and request to make an appointment ~4-5 weeks after your last scheduled appointment with Vera.  Clients then inform Vera of their appointment date with their ongoing prenatal, labor and birth service. So that she can fax their records and transfer their care before that appointment.  This process enables a seamless transfer, without duplication of services or appointments. 
• Receiving Vera’s prenatal care provides no guarantee of accessing ongoing labor & birth midwifery services.   Vera’s midwifery colleagues are pleased to accept referrals when they have capacity.  Their front desk calls, or sends folk on their waitlist an invitation to make an appointment when capacity is available. 
•  Lionsgate Maternity Clinic in collaborative  support of Vera’s alternate practice plan that does not include 24hr/7d labor and birth work, accepts Vera’s  early prenatal care clients, who either have a preference for family practice perinatal care, or who have been unable to access ongoing midwifery prenatal, labor & birth services, or who have had to wait for their MSP coverage to be activated and in the mean time  have paid privately for  their  initial BC prenatal care.
• Before leaving Vera’s early pregnancy care to have a doctor provide the rest of your maternity care.  You have the option to enrol into Vera’s postpartum services and of arranging to return to her care, after the birth of your baby.  
• In the chance that an early pregnancy becomes complicated, or does not go well, Vera is there in these circumstances too, to provide her clients support and early referral to obstetrical specialist services when needed.  

Vera’s Prenatal Services are covered by MSP for BC residents that have a care card.  You are eligible for her service providing that you have had no, or minimal prenatal care from a family doctor or walk in clinic.

Early pregnant and postpartum families have access to Vera’s on page email contact system to arrange additional telephone consultation, outside of their scheduled visits. This service is usually available between 9am and 11pm, 7 days a week, unless Vera informs her clients in care that she is taking time-off.  In between midnight and 9am clients access 811, or go to LGH ER. 

Vera has an hourly consultation fee for folk that request a private consultation with her at any time during their pregnancy or postpartum based on a midwife’s professional rate.  She also has a private phase of care rate for folk that do not have MSP based on BC midwives master agreement with the addition of an administration fee. . 

Her area of service is the North Shore. Folk who live near, or in Lower Lonsdale get priority.  Clients that live in her catchment area are eligible for home visits. 

Vera rents office space in Shipyards Health 88 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver.  Her in person appointment days are on one to three Wednesday from 2pm–8pm dependent on her capacity.  On occasion she uses space in Quayside Village at 5^th and Chesterfield Ave to undertake an in person visit

If you would like to have an experienced midwife involved in either in your Initial Prenatal Care and/or your Afterbirth Postpartum Care and wish to discuss your queries, you can fill out Vera’s Client Intake Form on this page. When your intake form is received, Vera will respond to your questions and arrange an appointment to begin your phase of care via email.   To submit the form, all the starred boxes must be completed.   If you do not receive a response within 5 days check your spam folder in case Vera’s email went there.  If this happens, please add hello (at) midwiferycare.ca as one of your contacts.

Vera looks forward to connecting with you!