More specific goals include improving the health outcomes of pregnant people and their families. The South Community Birth Program (SCBP) was established in October 2003 to pilot a unique maternity care program situated in the South Community area of Vancouver, British Columbia. At BC Women’s hospital, the Head of Family Practice, Sue Harris, and the Head of Midwifery, Lee Saxell, received funding through the Federal Government’s Primary Health Care Transition Funds, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and B.C. Women’s Hospital to pilot an innovative, collaborative, multidisciplinary program. Family physicians, midwives, community health nurses, and doulas all provide care in a community-based, culturally appropriate, during pregnancy, birth and the newborn period. The SCBP is designed to improve the health outcomes of pregnant people in the underserved community of South Vancouver. This is the first such multidisciplinary program of its kind in Canada. People have the choice of receiving their care in CP groups with a doctor or midwife and a nurse, or in individual one-on-one visits. Clients also have the option of being assigned a doula for support during labour and birth. To date, the SCBP has 44 trained doulas and among them they speak 24 languages as well as English. Families are matched with doulas with whom they can converse in their first languages. Since 2003 the SCBP has cared for more than 5,000 pregnancies, many of whom are new immigrants to Canada.
