Practice Group with Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto & Toronto Birth Centre

We had some fantastic insight about the necessity of safe, community-owned, governed and staffed public spaces at a practice meeting with Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto and Toronto Birth Centre on August 4, 2016.

Repeatedly heralded as a space and staff team that provides culturally safe experiences for their clients, the group had phenomenal understanding of what this means in practice at multiple levels, including design, staffing, training and policy.

Cultural safety means that “an individual who is looking for services with an agency, organization or service provider who is able and encouraged to authentically be themselves and doesn’t have to take off any hats to receive service–and not just any service, good service,” said Denise Booth (far left), Indigenous Community Engagement Coordinator at the Toronto Birth Centre.

One participant shared that, on a personal level, cultural safety means “not being questioned about my identity.”

Midwives have been and continue to be pillars of community and family health. A big thanks to the teams at Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto and Toronto Birth Centre for sharing your time, energies and wisdom with us!