General and Non Urgent Concerns
Clinic days are Monday to Thursday. The phone will be answered between 8:30am and 5:00pm. If you have a non urgent concern or question, please call the office. If we do not answer, please leave a message and we will call you back, usually within 24 hours.
Urgent Concerns – Pager number will be provided at your intake visit. Please save this number in your phone.
Quinte Midwives uses an automated answering system. From the main menu, follow the prompts to choose your primary midwife. Her voicemail will provide clear instructions for you to leave your name, number, and the reason for your call after the tone, as well as instructions to page again if you don’t hear back from her within 10 minutes. If she is off call, her voicemail will clearly state this in the instructions and how to return to the main menu (press 0) and choose your back up midwife. On the rare occasion both of your midwives are off call, select another on call midwife. Do not leave a message with an off call midwife – the message will not be answered.
Page for the following reasons:
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You are thinking of going to the Emergency Department or your doctor for any pregnancy or newborn-related concerns
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Bleeding from your vagina
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Severe abdominal, back or upper stomach pain
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Severe headache that does not let up or improve with Acetaminophen, or blurred and/or spotty vision
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Sudden and severe puffiness or swelling of your hands and face
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Illness with vomiting, or fever (>38°C / 100.4°F)
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Pain or burning when urinating
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Any leaking of amniotic fluid from vagina, whether a gush or a trickle
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Decrease of fetal movement
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Rhythmic cramping/contractions prior to 37 weeks
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Active labour at term (contractions 5 minutes apart or less, lasting for 45-60 seconds for at least an hour)
Paging Tips and Etiquette
Keep the line free after you page your midwife so they can reach you. Stay by the phone where you can be reached unless you need to go urgently to hospital. Some of the midwives have unlisted personal phone numbers so please pick up, even if you do not recognize the number, it could be them trying to contact you.
When It’s Urgent
If you feel your situation is too urgent or life-threatening to wait more than 10-20 minutes, call 911.
If you are unable to reach a midwife for over 30 minutes, please call Belleville General Hospital Labour and Delivery (613 969 7400, ext 2345), inform them of the situation, and ask them for assistance.
Do not leave a message on the clinic answering machine or discuss the matter with our clinic reception over the phone. If you wish, you may try to reach your midwife at the clinic, but if the clinic reception is unable to put you through directly to a midwife, please page a midwife directly.
When It’s Not Urgent
Leave a message at the clinic. Your midwife will call you back within 24 hours.
If your midwife does not arrive promptly for a scheduled home visit, or if you are wondering what time the visit will be, please be patient and avoid paging unnecessarily. Your midwife is likely sleeping or catching a baby, and she will call you when she is able. The midwives do their best to reschedule appointments if they become unavailable.
Please remember that your midwife often does not keep a regular schedule. Paging for non-urgent concerns is a disruption to your midwife’s professional and personal life. Your midwife may be sleeping at any time, in the shower, or attending to another client, etc. However, we appreciate that some concerns, while not “urgent,” would benefit from your midwife’s attention. Here are some tips for paging with non-urgent, but important concerns:
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If it is Monday through Thursday, call the clinic.
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If you have a concern that has been developing for hours or days (such as early labour pains, or breastfeeding concerns, etc.) and you are becoming concerned, please do not wait until late or the middle of the night to page.
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Do not page for concerns that are clearly unrelated to pregnancy.
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If you are considering calling telehealth, especially regarding newborn concerns, it is worth reaching your midwife instead (using guidelines above), as she will know your baby’s history and is an expert in newborn care.
Please be aware that there is thorough information on our website under ‘Pregnancy, Birth, Postpartum and Infant’ pages that addresses frequent concerns.