Co-designing our Birthing Centre with Patients and Families
A baby’s birth is a joyful event. To make this special experience even more comfortable for birthing patients and their families, NYG is updating its Birthing Centre.
NYG is one of Ontario’s largest single-site birthing centres, bringing 4,526 babies into the world in 2024-25. However, the hospital’s Birthing Centre has not been updated for decades. While NYG’s New Patient Care Tower will include a new and expanded Maternal Care Centre, the hospital identified a need to refurbish the current Birthing Centre now to better serve North York’s diverse and growing families.
“We realized that the physical environment no longer matched the quality of care we are delivering,” says Rudy Dahdal, NYG’s Vice President of Planning, Redevelopment and Clinical Support. “So, we put together a proposal to the NYG Foundation to support a refresh and revitalization of the Birthing Centre.”
This transformation could not have been possible without the generosity of our donor community. Thanks to their ongoing support, our Birthing Centre spaces will reflect the same warmth, excellence, and compassion that North York General has long been known for.
Creating a more home-like environment for mothers, babies and families
The upgrades, which focus on the triage, labour, delivery and postpartum units, have been designed with diverse and modern families in mind, “The definition of family has evolved, and our hospital serves a highly diverse community with different cultures and religions,” says Dahdal. “For example, in some cultures, many family members come to the hospital to support the mother, so we need to create spaces that are comfortable and welcoming, not just for the patient, but for family members who are not in the labour room.”
NYG undertook extensive consultations to inform the renovation’s design. The hospital tasked architectural firms NORR and Hariri Pontarini Architects with creating a healing and supportive space with a home-like feel, while still meeting the hospital’s safety standards and building requirements.
“The design process involved many patients, families and staff,” says Dahdal. In addition to consulting the NYG’s Patient Experience Partners, recent patients and families who either recently, or were currently within the Birthing Centre, were also asked for feedback on their experience, as well as on the new design.
“We received excellent feedback on things no one else had thought of,” says Dahdal. “A number of mothers commented on the intensity of the light and provided excellent feedback on optimal location of light fixtures, so overhead light doesn’t shine right in their eyes. They also told us that the lighting control was by the doorway and out of reach. So, we amended the lighting plan.”
Families also said that furniture provided for a loved one staying with the pregnant person during labour was extremely uncomfortable. “So, we brought in different types of chairs and had people test them,” says Dahdal.
The renovated Birthing Centre will also have state-of-the art safety and security equipment, including upgrades to the nurse call system, an infant protection system, surveillance cameras and controlled access to all areas of the unit. “Medical equipment, including baby monitors, heart monitors and specialty equipment used in the labour, delivery and postpartum areas are also being updated” says Dahal.
The refurbishment will be completed in four phases so the centre can remain open throughout the renovation. Work on phase one began in January 2025, with the first new rooms available to patients and families in April 2025 and completion slated for mid-2026.
“This renovation was co-designed with patients and families,” says Dahdal. “It was a highly consultative exercise that focused on what matters most for patients and their families, to create personalized experiences that are sensitive to the cultural and religious diversity of our community.”
This story is featured in the 2024 – 2025 Year in Review.