Riverdale Community Midwives

I had a wonderful experience. .. last minute i was transferred to a ob..but still my midwife julie was their with me till i gave birth to my son...its a wonderful clinic all the midwives are superb the entire 9 months journey was beautiful with them..warm, caring, professional, well versed with the knowledge of prenatal and postnatal care... sabina and the students mellasa and claire were also wonderfull..im going again for my 2 nd child same clinic and same midwife julie. Soon .....she is just awesome. ..
I totally recommend it over an ob...at the end of 9 months they have become a part of family....so close

I was thrilled when my son and daughter-in-law asked me to be present around the birth of their second son. They had decided on a natural, midwife-assisted birth at home and it was a real pleasure to be involved. I arrived from out-of-town 10 days before the baby came, partly because I was convinced , wrongly, that he would come four days early since his 4-year old brother Jesse had come two days early and second children often come a bit sooner than first children. Asserting his independence, he came 2 days after his due date. My pre-birth time was awesome, as Christina was so well-prepared, so cheerful and relaxed. She was a bundle of energy and we walked and did errands, tons of them. Much quality time was spent with Jesse and Skip, as we continued to have fun while remaining calm and optimistic.


As Christina and Skip explained, the most anxious part of of their first birth experience was getting to the hospital, with all the surrounding worries of when, how, the being wrenched into an unfamiliar place etc. (Let me note that the first birth was nonetheless a wonderful midwife experience and Jesse was brought home when just a couple of hours old!) This time however, they had practiced putting up the birthing tub, prepared themselves and Jesse and everything was comfortably in place. Everything was to be relaxed, quiet - no bright lights, different tables, strange implements. Christina and all of us - Skip, Jesse and me - had complete total confidence in Sabina. Christina started labor in the morning and for a while Jesse timed her contractions on an iPad. When they became intense, Sabina was called and shortly after that, at 11:30, Christina got into the tub. At this point, I switched my attention to being totally with Jesse and we went for a walk to the park and out to lunch. Jesse’s aunt took him to a relatives’s home nearby and I returned just in time to hear the baby’s first songs. Even though the baby’s head position and a reluctant lip of cervix had prolonged labor, the midwives were able to make an adjustment and the birth had proceeded well. No stitches were required, the baby was very healthy and the parents jubilant, as you can see from the picture above, taken shortly after 2 PM. And little Wyatt almost immediately proved to be an excellent and eager nurser.

Having the whole family be relaxed, at home, comfortable is just such a huge bonus - both physically and psychologically. I have 4 children myself and have assisted in some ways with the birth of 10 grandchildren and grand nephews. This was the bet birth yet. I can’t say enough positive things about it! Thanks Riverdale Community Midwives!

We have had 4 children born with the help of midwives; all at home and it was the most wonderful experience. The last two children were with the Riverdale Midwives and I can't imagine the experience being any better. I truly have no qualms suggesting that you entrust the most beautiful and meaningful experience of your life to these special women who dedicate most of their time to bringing life into the world. It's true though what another reviewer said that if you are a nervous type then perhaps you are better off going with a regular doctor.
The Best of both worlds I guess would be to have your midwife deliver your baby in the hospital; and the Riverdale midwives give you that option. For me though there is nothing more special in my life than lying with a freshly birthed baby in the quiet and calm room at home in which they were born. Very special.

Riverdale Midwives has been amazing for my partner and I. Please don't hesitate to use these midwives if you want a one! We also took our child birthing classes here and they were AMAZING, and much cheaper than other places around Toronto that don't have anywhere near the experience that these ladies have. Previously, I though of the classes as sort of a nice idea, but now I realize they are essential! They should be REQUIRED. You have to take classes to drive a car! And with how much cultural knowledge has been lost in the past 100 years, its even more important to regain some of this awareness of how babies are supposed to be born and also cared for in the important first few weeks of life. As to the previous negative reviews: Sorry you had a bad experience, but just because a midwife was brusk with you is not the whole story. Sabina happens to be my favorite midwife at the clinc. She is hilarious, amazingly intelligent, and totally focused on the quality of her practice. I haven't seen another professional so dedicated to her craft in a long time. Very inspiring. As to the reviewer claiming that the midwives contributed to the death of a baby... I'm very suspect this is even true. But if it is... the reviewer is dealing with the grief of this very sad event in a very negative way. The midwives are the utmost professionals and are using the latest practices, and the safety of mother and baby are always paramount. The infant mortality rate is not zero anywhere in the world and things happen. The baby cannot 'suffocate' in the birth canal, as its receiving oxygenated blood from the umbilical chord, not the lungs. Losing a baby is a risk with vaginal birth. If you passed a law that all babies will be born via c section in a hospital, more mothers would die, probably from hospital infection etc. So, Riverdale Midwives is a great place to get amazing support and information about how YOU want to give birth. Thank you RM!

I wish you luck finding the midwife you want at this location. I'm not surprise to see there is only one review and with a poor 3 starts after their services. This might not be the case for all the staff at this location but my wife and I were terribly treated by one of their staff there. A tall woman short gray hair in her mid 40'S .
I went to meet her since My wife and I have the illusion of a homebirth and she was the person assigned to us. From the very first moment we enter her office this woman was as cold as Ice. Quite the opposite from what one would expect for the person who will help you go through this important moment in life. She was addressing herself to my wife but would ignored me completely as if I was not supposed to be there . ( are we husbands not part of the process..?) once she finished reading the tests results I proceeded with my questions. After the last ultra sound the reading of the gender was not easy so they could not give us an answer. My wife and I wanted to know. After I asked her if there would be another ultra sound to determine it..She started lecturing me on why this is not important and started talking in plural to my wife as if she wanted her to agree with her opinions. The way she was talking to both of us was rude and unprofessional. Sorry we had a question! I am VERY SURE there are plenty professionals out there who really care about their clients in this industry . I cannot imagine this woman in my house dictating terms like a Fuhrer or even getting close to my future baby.../ we had to leave the office in the spot! we had to give half a star to the review otherwise the review would not have been saved... (I give this woman a star for scaring people away from your business though...!)

I have had 4 healthy births all with the Riverdale community midwives, My 1st birth was in 1996 my last was in 2006-
I found my midwife, Christine Sternberg, and all of the other midwives to be caring and sensitive and completely professional.
All my experiences ware very positive and each had a spiritual ambiance during the the birth and after and was a relaxing and completely natural experience each time, the last birth in 2006 turned out to be a water birth which I can say was almost completely painless, the post natal care they offer is much more personal she come directly to my home to check the baby the day after birth.

I would recommend anyone with a Holistic lifestyle and attitude- to consider a home birth you will find it to be a deep profound experience that will transform you in every way- if, however you are prone to fear or panic in the absence of Dr's, health workers, sterile equipment, painkillers and such, then maybe the natural home birth process is not for you.
~Yf Toronto

Tragically my nephew died on July11/2008 during a home birth while being attended by THREE riverdale midwives. He suffocated in the birth. No one was aware he was in any danger until he was born decessed. After being recussated by paramedics and rushed to Sick Kids, he was taken off life support due to severe brain damage. THREE midwives had NO IDEA he was in any trouble.
We live with this loss everyday. It has been unimaginable.
Please if you are thinking of using these midwives, reconsider. The outcome is supposed to be a healthy baby not a funeral.