Supporting New Beginnings:CWICE's Work with Newborns, Infants, and Families New to Canada

Sep 28, 2026, 09:00 AM

In 2024, Statistics Canada found 42.3% of all babies born in Canada were born to a mother born outside Canada. This proportion was even greater (57%) among births to women over the age of 40. Ontario and British Columbia had the highest proportion of births to mothers born outside Canada.

The Statistics Canada study also highlights the growing diversity of Canada's population. Mothers born in India, the Philippines, and China were the top three countries of birth for the mothers. Overall, the study recognized that Canada’s population growth over decades has been driven by international migration.

In our work at Peel CAS’ Child Welfare Immigration Centre of Excellence (CWICE), we offer specialized services at the intersection of child welfare and immigration. Some of our clients’ needs involve navigating unique challenges following the birth of a child shortly after arrival in Canada. Our team may be requested to offer services and consultation regarding newborns, infants, and their families. This includes preparing for a newborn’s arrival, as well as creating pathways to healthcare and community supports. We work with hospitals and healthcare providers, as well as other service providers in the community, and take an early intervention approach as often as possible.

Whether an infant arrives with their family at the airport, or is born after their parents migrate to Canada, we work collaboratively with our internal Infant Wellness partners to ensure timely and informed responses are offered to families.

"We are excited to partner with the CWICE teams to help ensure infants arriving through our airport are safe, protected, and cared for. Thank you for equipping the new airport office with essential infant supplies, this will help meet families' immediate needs upon arrival. Providing infants with a safe and healthy start lays the foundation for their wellbeing and supports families as they begin building their new lives in Canada." -Siphorah Wachira, Supervisor, Infant Wellness Program

Our goals are to ensure that families receive coordinated and culturally responsive support during a critical stage of their lives when they are welcoming or preparing to welcome a baby.

Shaneika Bailey, CWICE Flex Worker, has made several referrals to Peel CAS’ Infant Wellness Program (IWP). She shared that she can always count on the IWP nurses to attend home visits, follow up with families, and communicate about their services. She shared some infants do not have OHIP or their parents are nervous about the health care system, so having a visiting nurse offer services is particularly helpful. Shaneika shared the following about one family:

“My most recent referral was for an asylum-seeking family awaiting their refugee hearing. The mother had complications throughout her pregnancy and the baby had surgery after birth. The mother was so grateful for the support from Peel CAS and other referred community agencies; she suffers from chronic health needs and expressed over and over that her visits with the IWP nurse and worker give her a sense of hope and calm.”

There have been a number of families over the last six months where the mother or infant has needed hospitalization for longer periods following the birth due to medical complications. For example, there have been mothers readmitted for surgery upon discharge and babies moved to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for periods after birth.

Zrinka Buric, CWICE Flex Worker, also shared about a recent hospital referral requesting support for parents who welcomed a newborn in Canada. The family had arrived in Canada as Government-Assisted Refugees a few months earlier and were unfamiliar with some of our practices in Canada. In collaboration with the hospital social worker, Zrinka met with the family and offered to drive the mother and newborn home from the hospital. She further explained the purpose of infant car seats, their role in keeping children safe, and the legal requirements for their use in Canada. While she drove the mother and infant, the hospital arranged transportation for the father and the older children to return home as they were on site visiting the mother and their new sibling. Leaving the hospital is an incredibly important milestone for families and our support was welcomed by the family, reflecting our shared goal of supporting their infant’s safety and wellbeing.

Zrinka further shared that the family had other essential baby supplies and were open to further supports. Peel CAS partners with Peel Children’s Aid Foundation and IWP for continued supports to the family. The hospital arranged for a midwife to follow up in community, and the family received help from their settlement worker, who assisted them to register the baby’s birth. For us, helping the family access important services and supports as they adjust to life in Canada is important and our involvement only lasted a couple of months, as there were no ongoing child protection concerns. Rather, the parents simply needed practical guidance, access to community resources, and support in navigating the challenges of welcoming a new baby while raising older children and adapting to a new country and culture.

Accessing supports and building awareness, reducing stress, and navigating barriers, particularly when families are going through significant life transitions, will ultimately help all families migrating to establish a safe and stable foundation as they begin their new lives in Canada. An emphasis on early intervention is central to our work. For example, offering nursing support, explaining OHIP and transportation, ensuring settlement assistance, birth registration, and community referrals. That is the power and value of early intervention: removing barriers and providing families with the supports they need promotes more equitable outcomes.

As Canada welcomes an increasingly diverse population, professionals will continue to encounter more situations where specialized immigration knowledge is essential. Professionals may continue to receive referrals for infants and their families, as this article outlines, as well. When families are facing uncertainty or are unfamiliar with Canadian systems, they may need to be connected to the right supports, particularly to prevent barriers from mounting or compounding.

In many instances, helping families understand the services available to support them enhances the safety and wellbeing of infants and their families. Whether supporting newborns with complex family circumstances, assisting professionals in navigating international or immigration-related questions, or connecting families with appropriate resources, CWICE remains committed to providing excellent services to families in the community. Supporting new beginnings, to us, means ensuring that every child has the opportunity to begin life with safety, stability, and access to the supports they need.