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Judy Rogers

Judy Rogers

Associate Professor Emerita
EducationRM, MA

Judy originally worked as a midwife in Nova Scotia and undertook her formal midwifery education in England, qualifying in 1978. A founding member of the Association of Radical Midwives in the U.K., she provided care for women having home and hospital births until her return to Canada in 1990.  Judy completed her M.A. in Sociological Research in Health Care from the University of Warwick in England with a research focus on midwife autonomy and attitudes toward women. 

She continues to be in active clinical practice and in 2013 opened a new midwifery practice, Midwives of Georgian Bay, with privileges at West Parry Sound Health Centre and Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital. She is involved in an innovative arrangement of shared on-call coverage with local family physicians for the Level 1 hospital maternity unit in Parry Sound. Prior to opening her current practice, Judy was a practice partner for 18 years at Midwifery Care-North Don River Valley with privileges at North York General Hospital. Pre-legislation and until 1995, Judy worked with Midwifery Services of York providing care to women in York Region.

She is a strong advocate for maintaining birthing services in rural and remote communities, and her research reflects this passion. She was PI for a Primary Health Care Transition Fund grant in 2004-2006 and worked with six communities across the province on Integrated Maternity Care for Rural & Remote Communities. She was a member of the Ontario Maternity Care Expert Panel from 2004-2006, co-authoring the panel report in 2007, ‘Emerging Crisis, Emerging Solutions. More recently, Judy was an invited member of the Expert Panel, Leamington & Area Obstetrics & Birthing Services for the Erie St. Clair LHIN, and has been appointed to the Low Risk Maternal Newborn Strategy Expert Panel of the Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health. She is also a member of the Birth Centre Evaluation Work Group for BORN Ontario.

Having been a member of the MEP faculty since 1993, Judy was the Program Director from 2003-2010 and is currently an Associate Professor. In 2014 she won the Ryerson Faculty Association Career Achievement Award, and in 1998 received the GREET Teaching Award for the Faculty of Community Services, from the Group for the Renewal and Enhancement of Effective Teaching at Ryerson.

She has been a member of the Council of the College of Midwives of Ontario, and served as Chair of the Registration Committee. She is an SOGC ALARM instructor as well as a co-creator and instructor of the Association of Ontario Midwives Emergency Skills Workshop.

  • maternity care in rural and remote communities
  • birth centres
  • normal birth
  • midwifery education curricula and admission processes

  • Van Wagner V, Sharpe M, Rogers J, Brandeis E, Levy A, Sarkar T, Lynch B, Dennis K, Klein L, Robertson J. Perinatal outcomes for four Toronto midwifery practices: exploring best practices for normal birth. CJMRP 2014 Summer; 13 (2):18-24, 32-35.
  • Vedam S, Stoll K, Schummers L, Rogers J, Paine LL. Home birth in North America: attitudes and practices of US certified nurse-midwives and Canadian registered midwives. JMWH 2014 March/April; 59 (2): 141-152.
  • Vedam S, Schummers L, Stoll K,  Rogers J, Klein MC, Fairbrother N, Dharamsi S, Liston R, Chong GK, Kaczorowski J. The Canadian birth place study: describing maternity practice and providers’ exposure to home birth. Midwifery 2012 Oct; 28 (5):600-608.
  • Allemang E, Rogers J, Van Wagner V. Tempting providence and don’t have your baby in a dory: stories of midwife Myra Bennett.  CJMRP 2011; 10 (1):60-62.
  • Rogers J. Sustainability and collaboration in maternity care: dreams and obstacles. Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine 2003; 8 (3): 193-98.
  • November 2014, ‘Call the Midwife: Alternate Practice Arrangements’, Invited speaker, Plenary presentation, College of Midwives of Ontario Education Day, Toronto, ON.
  • May 2013, ‘Birth Centres in Ontario: What do women want?’, Plenary presentation, Co-authored with Ayeshah Haque, R.A., Association of Ontario Midwives Conference, Orangeville, ON.
  • May 2013, ‘Birth Centres in Ontario: Supporting growth & sustainability of midwifery in Ontario’, Plenary presentation, sole author, Association of Ontario Midwives Conference, Orangeville, ON.
  • May 2013, ‘Midwifery in Ontario: How can midwives contribute to maternity care in Parry Sound? Invited Presentation at Grand Rounds, West Parry Sound Health Centre, Parry Sound, ON.
  • April 2013, ‘Ontario Birth Centres: Opportunities to Enhance Learning for Midwifery & Inter-professional Learners’, Invited presenter to College of Midwives of Ontario Birth Centre Implementation Conference, Toronto, ON.