Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health

08/14/2025

Since its inception in 2015, PCMCH’s Complex Care for Kids Ontario (CCKO) program has relied on the knowledge and contributions of family advisors.

For CCKO family advisors such as Sophia Lawson and Shannon Reaume, complex care is a deeply personal matter. Both are mothers of children with complex medical needs and have firsthand experience navigating Ontario’s care system, understanding the stress this can place on families like theirs.

Read Sophia and Shannon’s insights in this special CCKO issue of PCMCH’s Milestones newsletter: https://www.pcmch.on.ca/insights-from-ccko-family-advisors-sophia-lawson-and-shannon-reaume/

08/11/2025

This year, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of PCMCH’s Complex Care for Kids Ontario (CCKO) program!

CCKO was created to improve the lives of children with medical complexity and their families by providing integrated, coordinated care across Ontario’s health and social systems. Over the past ten years, the program has significantly expanded access to comprehensive care and enabled more services to be delivered closer to home.

Learn more about the evolution and growth of CCKO in this special issue of our Milestones newsletter: https://www.pcmch.on.ca/milestones-newsletter-summer-2025/

08/07/2025

As part of our Emergency Department Paediatric Readiness (EDPR) Initiative, PCMCH developed a user-friendly checklist tool that identifies the components of readiness across six domains. We encourage hospitals to use this tool to self-assess their paediatric readiness.

You can download the EDPR Checklist, along with the EDPR Findings Report (2024), by visiting our website: https://www.pcmch.on.ca/emergency-department-paediatric-readiness/

07/30/2025

ICYMI: Watch this PCMCH Paediatric Diabetes Network (PDN) webinar recording about the psychosocial impact of living with diabetes and the role of the diabetes care provider. Recorded in May 2025, this resource is intended for those providing diabetes care and education to children and youth living with diabetes. Watch:

Presented on May 15, 2025, this webinar features an associate professor and clinical and health psychologist from the University of Windsor discussing the ps...

07/24/2025

We invite you to participate in PCMCH's 2025 Communications Survey!

PCMCH is reviewing its communications strategy as part of our ongoing efforts to improve how we communicate with our audiences. Through this benchmark survey, we seek to:
- Gauge the effectiveness of PCMCH’s communications practices;
- Learn more about the preferences of PCMCH partners; and
- Develop an evidence base to help inform future communications decisions.

This survey will take approximately five minutes to complete, and all answers are strictly confidential and no identifying information is required. The deadline to complete the survey is August 18, 2025.

Complete the survey: https://surveys.sickkids.ca/surveys/?s=L3RR74P4WMM4P7NW

07/21/2025

PCMCH’s Safe Administration of Oxytocin Guidance Report outlines 11 best practice recommendations for the safe management of pregnant patients whose labour is induced or augmented with the medication oxytocin.

Access this resource and others related to the administration of oxytocin by visiting our website: https://www.pcmch.on.ca/safe-administration-of-oxytocin/

07/14/2025

Preventing the spread of respiratory viruses, such as measles, requires collective action and informed decision-making. We encourage parents, families and healthcare providers to visit our website for helpful resources that offer reliable, up-to-date information on common respiratory viruses and available immunization options: https://www.pcmch.on.ca/respiratory-viruses-and-immunizations/

07/10/2025

PCMCH Governing Council member Dr. Prakeshkumar Shah envisions Ontario becoming the leader in perinatal, neonatal and paediatric healthcare – a model for others to witness and emulate.

A leading clinician, educator, researcher and policy advisor, Dr. Shah currently serves as Paediatrician-in-Chief at Mount Sinai Hospital, Clinical Lead for Neonatal Intensive Critical Care (NICU) at Ontario Health, and is a Professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto.

Learn more about Dr. Shah by reading our latest profile: https://www.pcmch.on.ca/pcmch-spotlight-dr-prakeshkumar-shah/

07/07/2025

All hospitals that provide perinatal, birthing and newborn services are expected to deliver high-quality, equitable and timely care.

PCMCH’s Perinatal, Birthing and Newborn Levels of Care Guidance Document defines the service and resource requirements necessary to provide care to birthing people and newborns in Ontario.

Learn more about this resource and others by visiting our website: https://www.pcmch.on.ca/perinatal-birthing-and-newborn-levels-of-care/

07/03/2025

PCMCH is pleased to announce the release of a new patient resource: Preeclampsia Awareness and Prevention During Pregnancy.

Developed by PCMCH in partnership with the MotHERS™ Program, this fact sheet provides essential information on preeclampsia. It is intended to support individuals who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy in recognizing the signs of – and understanding the risks associated with – preeclampsia and knowing when to follow up with their healthcare provider.

To help reduce language barriers and improve access to care, the fact sheet is available in several languages. Learn more: https://www.pcmch.on.ca/preeclampsia/

06/26/2025

PCMCH’s Standards of Postnatal Care makes recommendations on how healthcare providers can enhance care for birthing parents and newborns within the first seven days following birth, including postnatal care activities that may be required when families are discharged from the hospital. https://www.pcmch.on.ca/standards-of-postnatal-care/

06/23/2025

Ontario’s regional maternal-child health networks (called “regional networks”) support the professional development of perinatal, neonatal and paediatric care providers throughout the province. Such supports may include simulation-based training, virtual workshops, certification programs, and more.

Read our latest article to learn how three regional network leaders are using education to advance perinatal, neonatal and paediatric care: https://www.pcmch.on.ca/advancing-care-through-education-ontarios-regional-maternal-child-health-networks/