Hamilton Pregnancy Care Pathway

Revised March 2019
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Resource for Care Providers
This website is currently under review. Please note there is some outdated information on services and phone numbers. In the meantime, refer to the attached pdfs which were updated December 2022.
Is the person under 24 years old?
Switch to the Youth Pregnancy Care Pathway
Is the person in an immediate crisis or emergency situation?

Emergency Housing:

  • Good Shepherd Women’s Services 905-523-6277
  • for full list of shelters see resources tab

Mental Health Crisis:

  • Hamilton Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST) (FR) 905-972-8338
  • Sexual Assault Centre Crisis Line 905-525-4162 (24-hr)
  • Fem'aide: Francophone Women's Support Line (FR-only) 1-877-336-2433

Determine if person is at risk for crisis by assessing needs in areas listed below

Be careful in phrasing questions, people are likely to feel judgement here. When concerns are identified, link to system navigation and address immediate needs. Communicate risk factors when connecting with services.

  • Mental Wellness and Illness:
  • Women’s Health Concerns Clinic 905-522-1155 x33979
  • Tobacco Cessation:
  • Smokers' Helpline, connect to local cessation supports and phone counselling (FR) 1-877-513-5333
  • Substance Use:
  • Alcohol, Drugs, and Gambling Services 905-546-3606
  • Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) Clinic 905-522-1155 x35800
  • Housing Case Management:
  • Housing Help Centre 905-526-8100
  • Native Women’s Centre 905-664-1114
  • Abuse and Violence:
  • Good Shepherd Women's Services 905-523-6277
  • Women’s Centre 905-522-0127
  • for a full list see resources tab
  • Legal Issues:
  • Jared's Place Legal Advocacy 905-522-0127 x207

Note: Healthy Babies Healthy Children Screen, Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) tool, and Antenatal 1 can assist in assessing risk factors.

Francophone supports for all of the above (mental health, tobacco, substance use, housing, abuse and violence, legal issues) are provided by the Centre de santé communautaire Hamilton-Niagara: 905-528-0163 (FR-only)

Does the person need and want to confirm pregnancy?

Pregnancy Test:

  • Family Doctor
  • Maternity Centre of Hamilton 905-528-5553
  • other resources

Counsel on full range of options and resources available.

  • Atwell Centre (formerly Pregnancy Support Services of Hamilton) 905-393-8525
  • Health Connections Phone Line 905-546-3550

Pregnancy decision is time sensitive! learn more on resources tab

Does the person have a community service provider to offer support and system navigation?

Make connection to:

  • Healthy Babies Healthy Children (HBHC); Refer through: Health Connections 905-546-3550
    • Home visiting from Public Health Nurse throughout pregnancy and postpartum and from a Family Home Visitor in the HBHC Program
  • Social Worker where youth is already comfortable accessing supports (hospital, Maternity Centre, school, library, C/CAS, primary care provider)
  • Hamilton Regional Indian Centre 905-548-9593
    • Comprehensive holistic prenatal and postpartum programs
  • Centre de Santé Communautaire - Services perinataux (FR-only) 905-528-0163
    • Francophone community health centre and prenatal care
Is the person accessing prenatal education in a peer environment?
  • Hamilton Prenatal Nutrition Program (Welcome Baby) 905-546-3550
    • Free weekly drop-in pre and postnatal (to 6-mth) support groups throughout the city; snack and food gift card provided
  • Prenatal education:
    • Public Health Services 905-546-3591
Does the person have a health care provider that they trust to provide comprehensive prenatal care?

Connect to:

  • The Maternity Centre 905-528-5553
    • A health care team offering comprehensive pregnancy care
  • Midwifery Services: A registered midwife is a primary caregiver throughout pregnancy, labour, and 6 weeks postpartum.
    • Access Midwives (Stoney Creek) 905-546-5002
    • Community Midwives of Hamilton (downtown Hamilton, Crown Point region) 905-546-5444
    • Hamilton Midwives (downtown Hamilton) 905-527-8919
    • Hamilton Midwifery Care (central mountain) 905-296-3665
  • Family Doctor or Nurse Practitioner. If they don't have one, contact:
  • CSCHN - Family Doctor or Midwife (FR-only) 905-528-0163
  • OBSTETRICIANS
    • St. Joseph’s Hospital 2F, 905-521-6041
Is the person late to care or declining support?

Link to:

  • Social Work at hospital,
  • The Maternity Centre 905-528-5553,
  • Midwifery Services (see comprehensive prenatal care, above), or
  • Shelter Health Network on call Maternity Care Team for immediate on site prenatal support 905-974-1735

If more support is needed, connect with C/CAS. Educate client on C/CAS support role, encourage client to make call if needed or desired.

  • CAS 905-522-1121
  • CCAS 905-525-2012

Labour and birth: Critical moment where support is needed as client feels vulnerable.

Involve clients in care decisions and take time to address concerns.

Does the person have support for parenting and early child development?

Link to supports for system navigation

Does the person have a plan for continuing education or employment?
  • Review childcare subsidy application and criteria www.hamilton.ca/childcare
  • Encourage tax filing to access financial benefits 905-522-1148 x456
  • Use the Basic Needs Financial Supports Catalogue
  • Learning Earning And Parenting (LEAP): supports youth under 26 on Ontario Works to complete high school (flip to the back for a list of high school completion programs): 905-546-2424 x3088
  • YWCA Employment Services 905-522-9922
  • Collège Boréal: AFB/ACE Accès carrières études (FR-only) 905-544-9824 x7320
Does the person have support for birth and immediate postpartum?

In hospital:

  • Key learning time for new parents where extra support is needed
  • Review and acknowledge birth plan
  • Breastfeeding:
    • Immediate and accessible breastfeeding support at both McMaster and St. Joseph's Hospitals. Ongoing:
    • Public Health Services 905-546-3550
    • La Leche League 1-800-665-4324
    • Telehealth (FR) 1-866-797-0000
  • Mental Wellness:
    • Encourage counselling as a normal part of adjusting to major change via:
    • Women's Health Concerns Clinic 905-522-1155 x33979
  • Ensure 24-48 hour post-discharge visit is booked with health care provider
  • Discuss postpartum contraceptive plans
    • Sexual Health Clinic 905-528-5894, or
    • care provider for birth control
  • Use Perinatal Mental Health Care Path
  • Provide information around obtaining child identification and birth certificate. If client needs own ID, connect with:
    • Urban Core ID clinic 905-522-3233
You've reached the end of the care pathway

Resources

Is the person under 23 years old?

My Contacts

When you select checkboxes in the pathway the associated resources will appear here as a customized contact list.

Person in Immediate Crisis or Emergency Situation

Confirming Pregnancy

Support and System Navigation

Prenatal Education

Comprehensive Prenatal Care

Late to Care or Declining Support

Parenting and Early Child Development

Continuing Education and Employment

Birth and Immediate Postpartum

Selected Resources

The Young Parent Resource Tool is an electronic resource designed by young parents to help young people explore and understand local resources available to pregnant and parenting youth.

Open the Young Parent Resource Tool

Please contact your organization’s Education Lead (if you have one) or use this contact form for questions, feedback, or if any of the links or phone numbers are no longer in service.

About the Pregnancy Care Pathways



The Healthy Birth Weights Coalition was a community-wide collaborative made up of more than 50 members from 30 organizations, representing: health care providers, community organizations, researchers, and youth within the City of Hamilton. The original youth pregnancy care pathway was developed by the Care Pathway Action Team, a working group of the coalition, to support holistic and integrated care for pregnant youth.
In 2018 the Safe Transitions Steering Committee created a universal pathway for use by service providers serving people over the age of 23, the Hamilton Pregnancy Care Pathway.
Each organization adopts and applies these care pathways according to their respective mission, vision, and values.
Neither pathway is comprehensive of all of the community resources available in Hamilton, but were designed to reflect a variety of commonly used services.
Please contact your organization’s YPCP Education Lead or use the contact form in the Feedback tab for questions or to provide feedback.