About Liz
Dr. Liz Darling is the Director/Assistant Dean of the Midwifery Education Program and an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her qualifications include a BArtsSc (McMaster), a BHSc in Midwifery (McMaster), a MSc in Health Research Methods (McMaster), and a PhD in Population Health (University of Ottawa). During her doctoral studies, she held a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (CIHR), and was awarded (but declined) a CIHR Health Professional Fellowship. In 2019, she was the recipient of the Association of Ontario Midwives Research Excellence Award.
Liz has been a Registered Midwife since 1997, and practiced first in North York, and then in Ottawa until 2016. She was a part-time Lecturer (2005-08) and then Assistant Professor (2008-16) in the Midwifery Education Program at Laurentian University prior to joining the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at McMaster as a full-time Associate Professor in 2017. She is also an Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, and holds an Associate appointment in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University.
Liz has been an active representative of the midwifery profession at the provincial and national level, including serving as a member of the Expert Advisory Committee for the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System. From 2008-15 she chaired the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee at the Association of Ontario Midwives. She currently is a member of the Research Standing Committee of the International Confederation of Midwives.
Liz’z research focuses on maternal-newborn health services. She has particular expertise in the midwifery data collected in Ontario’s perinatal registry (BORN-Ontario). Current research projects include: Evaluation of the Markham-Stouffville Hospital Alongside Midwifery Unit; Non-indicated transfers of care from midwives to obstetricians in Ontario; Access to Midwifery Care and Socioeconomic Status: Investigating the barriers and facilitators to midwifery care access experienced by people of low socioeconomic status; Inadequate prenatal care in Hamilton: An investigation into how to improve prenatal care access for marginalized populations; and midwifery early discharge trends. Liz was a recipient of the Association of Ontario Midwives’ Career Research Grants in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Liz has been a Registered Midwife since 1997, and practiced first in North York, and then in Ottawa until 2016. She was a part-time Lecturer (2005-08) and then Assistant Professor (2008-16) in the Midwifery Education Program at Laurentian University prior to joining the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at McMaster as a full-time Associate Professor in 2017. She is also an Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, and holds an Associate appointment in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University.
Liz has been an active representative of the midwifery profession at the provincial and national level, including serving as a member of the Expert Advisory Committee for the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System. From 2008-15 she chaired the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee at the Association of Ontario Midwives. She currently is a member of the Research Standing Committee of the International Confederation of Midwives.
Liz’z research focuses on maternal-newborn health services. She has particular expertise in the midwifery data collected in Ontario’s perinatal registry (BORN-Ontario). Current research projects include: Evaluation of the Markham-Stouffville Hospital Alongside Midwifery Unit; Non-indicated transfers of care from midwives to obstetricians in Ontario; Access to Midwifery Care and Socioeconomic Status: Investigating the barriers and facilitators to midwifery care access experienced by people of low socioeconomic status; Inadequate prenatal care in Hamilton: An investigation into how to improve prenatal care access for marginalized populations; and midwifery early discharge trends. Liz was a recipient of the Association of Ontario Midwives’ Career Research Grants in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
