Effective date: August 31, 2026
Your Downtown Doula (“YDD,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a collective of registered healthcare providers offering perinatal care across the Greater Toronto Area and virtually across Ontario. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through our website, how we use and protect it, and the choices you have. It reflects Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy laws.
1. Scope of this policy
This policy covers personal information collected through our website, yourdowntowndoula.com — for example, when you complete a contact or intake form, subscribe to our newsletter, purchase a program, or browse the site.
Clinical records are handled separately. Any health information you share during actual care — consultations, assessments, treatment notes — is maintained by your individual practitioner in a secure, dedicated practice-management system and is governed by applicable health-privacy legislation, including Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). This website policy does not replace the privacy practices your practitioner provides as part of your care.
2. Information we collect
Information you give us directly:
- Contact and intake forms — your name, email, phone number, and details relevant to matching you with the right practitioner, which may include limited health-related information such as your estimated due date, stage of pregnancy or postpartum, the type of support you’re seeking, and your general location or nearest intersection.
- Newsletter sign-up — your email address (and name, if provided) when you subscribe to A Letter from the Doctor.
- Purchases — if you buy a program or course, the billing details needed to complete your order. Payment card details are entered directly with our payment processor and are not stored on our servers (see Section 6).
- Correspondence — anything you include when you email or message us.
Information collected automatically:
- Usage and device data — when you visit, we and our analytics providers may collect your IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed, referring website, and similar technical data through cookies and similar technologies.
3. Cookies and analytics
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to make the site work, understand how it’s used, and measure the performance of our advertising, including:
- Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager — to understand site traffic and usage;
- Google Ads — to measure the effectiveness of, and where applicable serve, our advertising.
You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings, opt out of Google Analytics using Google’s opt-out browser add-on (tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout), and manage your preferences through the cookie notice on our site.
4. How we use your information
We use the personal information we collect to:
- respond to your inquiries and match you with the practitioner best suited to your needs;
- coordinate and provide the care or services you request;
- process and fulfill program or course purchases;
- send you our newsletter and updates where you have consented (you can unsubscribe at any time);
- operate, maintain, secure, and improve our website; and
- measure and improve our marketing.
We do not sell your personal information.
5. Service providers and sharing
We share personal information only as needed to run our practice and website, with:
- the practitioner(s) matched to you, so they can respond and provide care;
- service providers that process information on our behalf, under confidentiality obligations — including our website hosting provider, our email/newsletter platform (Mailchimp), our payment processor (Stripe, via our online store), and the Google services described above; and
- others where required or permitted by law (for example, to comply with a legal obligation or protect our rights).
Some providers (such as Google, Mailchimp, and Stripe) may store or process information on servers located outside Canada, including in the United States, where it may be subject to the laws of those jurisdictions.
6. How we protect your information
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your personal information against loss, theft, and unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Payment card information is handled by our payment processor using industry-standard encryption and is not stored on our website. No method of internet transmission is completely secure, but we take steps consistent with the sensitivity of what you share.
7. How long we keep your information
We keep personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, to maintain our business records, or as required by law. Newsletter subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe.
8. Your choices and rights
Under PIPEDA, you have the right to:
- access the personal information we hold about you and request a copy;
- correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
- withdraw consent to our use of your information, or to marketing, at any time (this may affect our ability to provide certain services); and
- ask questions or make a complaint about how we handle your information.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 11.
9. Children’s privacy
Our website and services are directed to adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Information you provide about your baby or child as part of seeking care is treated as part of your family’s care record.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The “Effective date” above shows when it was last revised, and material changes will be posted on this page.
11. Contact us
If you have questions about this policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact:
Your Downtown Doula
info@yourdowntowndoula.com