• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
College of Midwives of Ontario

College of Midwives of Ontario

  • About
    • Council and Elections
    • Council Meetings
    • Governance Education Modules
    • Accountability Reports
  • Midwives
    • Apply for Registration
    • Maintaining Your Registration
    • Forms for Midwives
    • Internationally Educated Midwives
    • Professional Corporations
    • Conduct, Complaints, and Concerns
    • Registrant Portal
  • Standards & Resources
    • Scope of Practice
    • Standards of Practice
    • Policies and Legislation
    • Guides and Publications
    • Consultations and Surveys
    • Professional Practice Advice
    • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
  • Clients & the Public
    • What to Expect From a Midwife
    • How We Work Together
    • Midwife Status Check
    • Complaints and Concerns about a Midwife
  • News
  • Contact
  • Midwife Directory
  • Registrant Portal
  • Complaints and Concerns
Home News Practice Advisory

Practice Advisory

Note: This article was originally posted in our Autumn 2018 newsletter, and has not been updated.

Providing Informed Choice on Pain Management

Clients may initially choose not to have pain medication as part of their birth plan but may change their minds as their labour progresses. Clients may experience confusion and frustration if a certain method of pain management cannot be provided at the time of their request. In addition to conducting an informed choice discussion in the prenatal period with clients about intrapartum pain management, midwives can create client handouts to provide to clients. The handout can address available pain management options during labour (at home or in hospital), the potential benefits and risks of the available pain management options and how external factors, such as hospital policy and staffing, could interfere with pain management being provided at the time of a client’s request.

Relevant Professional Standards: 

15. Support clients to be active participants in managing their own health and the health of their newborns

16 Recognize clients as the primary decision-makers and provide informed choice in all aspects of care by:

16.1 Providing information so clients are informed when making decisions about their care

16.2 Advising clients about the nature of any proposed treatment, including the expected benefits, material risks and side effects, alternative courses of action, and likely consequence of not having the treatment

16.4 Allowing Clients adequate time for decision-making

Stay connected with us

Consent
  • Registrant Portal
  • Midwife Directory
  • Contact Us
  • Complaints and Concerns

College of Midwives of Ontario
21 St Clair Ave E #303
Toronto, ON
M4T 1L9
(416) 640-2252

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Copyright © 2023 College of Midwives Ontario

  • Privacy
  • Accessibility

Built by