Growing Up: Baby

“Disability is so unique from one person to the next in terms of how it impacts them outside of pregnancy and well as pregnancy.” 

Dr. Anne Berndl (MD MSc FRCSC) is the director of the Accessible Care Pregnancy Clinic at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. The clinic provides holistic, individualized obstetrical care to patients living with physical disabilities. 

Care options are individualized to each patient and their family, with the goal of providing seamless and holistic care throughout planning, pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period.

The Accessible Care Pregnancy Clinic opened in March 2017 and is the first of its kind in North America. It strives to improve obstetrical care for pregnant people living with physical disabilities. 

*This episode was recorded in 2024. 

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“Every pregnancy is different. There is something of a risk at every step of the way in every pregnancy.” 

While there is no ‘perfect’ prenatal scenario, Dr. Dini Hui ensures an optimal outcome for her patients. 

As a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, she cares for and advises those who have a ‘high risk’ or complicated pregnancy through consultation, frequent visits and specialized testing. 

*This episode was recorded in 2024. 

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“This experience of loss really changes who you are in the world — and changes you for the rest of your life.” 

Michelle La Fontaine is the manager of the Pregnancy & Infant Loss Network (PAIL) at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. As a bereaved mom herself, she guides grieving families with a full heart, connecting them with programs and resources. 

PAIL joined Sunnybrook in 2017 and aims to bring awareness to this uncomfortable topic while providing grief literacy and support to the wider community.

*This episode was recorded in 2024. 

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“I would go to emergency with extreme blood loss, clots, completely drained out. I was white like a piece of paper and they would send me back home with Tylenol.”

Flora Kestin suffered for years with undiagnosed endometriosis. Her hellish journey began at the age of 14. She was eventually treated by Dr Jamie Kroft, one of Canada’s leading experts in the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis.

Dr. Kroft, a gynecologist who specializes in minimally invasive surgery at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, has helped countless people regain control of their lives.

Visit The Endometriosis Network Canada for additional information and resources. 

*This episode was recorded in 2024. 

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"We were absolutely terrified, and our biggest question was, 'is our baby going to die?' I didn't know anything about babies being born in the second trimester."

Ten years ago, Karen Bong didn’t know if her daughter would make it home from Sunnybrook’s NICU. She is now the proud mother of two, and guides other new parents as the NICU’s Family Support Specialist. 

Dr. Eugene Ng is a neonatologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He outlines the processes and protocols in place for NICU support and how this hospital has the best outcome in all of Canada for micro-preemies and babies born with anomalies. 

*This episode was recorded in 2024. 

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This five-part Sunnybrook Series features the lived experience of those navigating motherhood, trauma and loss, and the specialists, doctors and directors dedicated to supporting the most vulnerable of patients. 

Stream a new episode every Wednesday, beginning March 5. All guests on this podcast were provided by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. 

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1 in 3 women who give birth will experience birth trauma, according to Healthline. A 2019 study asked how traumatic experiences could have been prevented. Frequent responses included feeling a loss of control, fearing for their babies life, high levels of pain, lack of communication about what was happening — and imploring health care professionals to “listen to me.” For one mother still suffering the effects of a traumatic birth experience, moving forward has been difficult. She desperately wants to become pregnant again — and believes her bungled delivery and subsequent lack of care has led to irreversible damage. 

~ anonymous mother, birth trauma experience. 

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“When a woman’s pregnant, she’s much more connected to the spiritual world, because those babies aren’t quite here yet.”  Tabitha Curley’s twin boys will soon enter this world, much to the excitement of their big brother Mason. Tabitha is an intergenerational survivor from Six Nations, part of the Onondaga Nation Beaver Clan. Several of her family members were forced into residential schools, which drives her work at the Survivor’s Secretariat. She shares how she protects herself — and her unborn children — from this heavy undertaking.

~ Tabitha Curley, soon-to-be mom of three.

Learn more about The Survivor's Secretariat.

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“Nothing prepares you for the exhaustion and joy of bringing a beautiful life into the world.” An experienced doula — and mom of six — shares learnings from decades of trials and tribulations. Katia Maxwell advocates for informed decision making and encourages new moms to lean into and trust their instincts. She says that while every birth she attends is different, there are two commonalities that unite us all: pain and love.

Katia Maxwell, doula, child birth educator, mom of six. 

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How quickly they grow from curious crawlers to tearing-up-the-house toddlers. Between the age of 18-24 months, expect rapid brain growth and development leading to complex emotions, newfound independence and accelerated language and motor skills. This episode focuses on the importance of positive stimuli, key markers, and begs the question: are the terrible twos really that terrible?

~ Dr. Eugene Ng, newborn and developmental paediatrics, Toronto. 

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