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Social Work

Our goal is to ensure that you and your family are supported with compassion during your time  in hospital or in one of our clinics. We provide emotional, practical and culturally safe support through counselling, education, advocacy, and referrals.


How we help

If you are patient at BC Women's or connected with one of our clinics you may want to talk with a social worker for help with mental health, emotional or social concerns. 

 

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We will support you through: 
  • health concerns
  • understanding complex information and 
  • processing difficult emotions (including grief and loss).
We will help you cope with challenges by offering:
  • counselling 
  • advocacy on your behalf
  • help you with safety planning
  • resource information and education. 
We are an important part of your healthcare team. ‎


 
Pregnancy, childbirth and parenting can be exciting and joyful, but can also be scary and overwhelming. 

Receiving a medical diagnosis or managing medical or mental health conditions can cause you and your family a great deal of stress. 

Your physical and mental health, your social and financial situation, and other factors may impact your ability to thrive. 

Social workers are here to help you talk about your concerns.

Other concerns you may want to talk with us about are:

  • Treatment plan for medical diagnosis
  • Medically high-risk pregnancy
  • Previous pregnancy losses or other significant losses
  • Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admission
  • Traumatic birth experience
  • Miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal death
  • Substance use disorders
  • Mental health concerns
  • Social isolation
  • Relationship stress or intimate partner/family violence
  • Resources and supports for new immigrants, refugees, and undocumented people
  • Resources available in your home community
  • Financial stress
  • Child welfare
  • Adoption planning 

 
 

‎Social workers across BC Women’s are trained at the Bachelor and Master level from accredited universities and are registered with the BC College of Social Workers.


Our goal is to work in partnership with you to help 
  • reduce stress
  • identify personal strengths and 
  • optimize safety and well-being. 
We are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-oppressive practices, and Indigenous cultural safety.  

 

‎Using the services of a social worker is voluntary. If you would like to see a social worker, please ask your healthcare team. With your consent, referrals can be made by a doctor, midwife, nurse, other healthcare staff, or a community agency. 


Who is eligible for social work support?

  • Anyone who is currently a patient at BC Women's
  • People using BC Women's clinics or services or
  • People registered to deliver at BC Women's

You can also self-refer by calling 604-875-2149.


Resources


 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

The organizations and programs listed here can help you find services in your area that meet your needs:


Programs we support

Social work services are available in each of the following specialized programs. 

 

‎The Maternal Newborn Program offers comprehensive maternity care for pregnant and post-partum patients and their families.  This includes patients and families who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, and traumatic birth. 


Resources: 

After the Loss of your Baby

Miscarriage

Recurrent Pregnancy Loss 

Stillbirth Happens - let's talk Podcast


 

 

The Maternity Ambulatory Program provides specialized pregnancy and prenatal care, including prenatal diagnostic services and care for those who need more intensive monitoring and support. 


Clinic/service areas include:

Diabetes in Pregnancy

Fetal Diagnosis Service

Fetal Monitoring

Internal Medicine Clinic 

Maternal Fetal Medicine

Maternity Care for New Immigrants (New Beginnings Clinic)‎


The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) provides medical and surgical care for babies after birth who need special attention. Some of the reasons include preterm birth, low birth weight, breathing difficulty, and infection.

 

Championing lifelong care for women* and children living with HIV or reproductive infectious disease**.  We srive to be culturally safe, trauma and equity-informed in all we do. We aim to educate providers, inform policy and empower patients via interdisciplinary care, advocacy and research. 


*"women" for the purpose is defined as people who are anatomically female, or people who identify as women regardless of anatomy or sex assigned at birth


**"reproductive infectious disease" includes infections that impact the reproductive tract, infections in pregnancy, congenital infections, and any infections that impact the wellbeing of women 


For more information: Oak Tree Clinic 

 

 

The Families in Recovery Program  (FIR) is the first of its kind in Canada providing specialized support to people who are pregnant or newly parenting while navigating substance use and mental health concerns. 


For more information visit: Substance Use Services ‎

 

 

‎The Complex Chronic Diseases Program (CCDP) is a leader in providing inter-professional care to patients with complex and chronic diseases.

 

 

‎Reproductive Mental Health Services help people and their families who are dealing with mental health challenges and disorders before, during, and after pregnancy and birth.

 






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