Cook Street Community Midwives

Posted • This weekend we mark two important dates on May 5th : National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and International Day of the Midwife.

Here in Kwakwaka’wakw Territories we have lost so many parents in the last couple of years with all these passing being linked to struggles with substance use disorder and su***de.

Today I am sharing the brief story of 2 of these young mothers who were in my care during their pregnancies and are related to one of the local indigenous birth-keepers, Laura Joe.

At age 23, Tiffany Joe (Laura’s aunt) died March 24th 2022 alone with her daughter Carlynn’s shoes in her purse. Tiff was always trying to get back on her path and parent her daughter, who was 3 at the time.

Marcy Charlie (Laura’s sister) died July 27th 2023, when her son Maverick was also 3yrs old. While Marcy worked hard during pregnancy maintaining her sobriety, early in the post partum period she was pulled back into her addictions.

Now Laura and her mom are actively parenting Carlynn and working hard to get Maverick returned to them from MCFD care.

In order to honour both these young mamas in a good way we are seeking your donations this weekend towards getting proper headstones to mark their graves. Please send etransfers directly to Laura ([email protected])

Even midwives need midwives! In honour of International Day of the Midwife, here are some photos from when our clinic recently hosted a record-breaking number of midwives to celebrate the not one, not two, but five(!) pregnant midwives in our community. Thank you to for leading the blessingway with beauty and intention and to our wonderful midwifery community for joining in ceremony and celebration 🥰



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And just like that, we're now booking up into *checks notes* 2024!! Visit http://www.cookstmidwives.com/contact to submit an intake form.

See below for info about a great new offering from :

Posted • Located in BC? Pregnant with a due date in Summer 2023? Read this for more info on how to access a NEW, free program to help you prepare for postpartum. These sessions will be facilitated by me, Dr. Pip, .
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Postpartum bleeding, the baby blues, leaking breasts, supportive sleep planning, hair loss, night sweats, relationship changes, returning to intimacy... you name it, we'll prepare you for it! This new program will cover all things postpartum and teach you some helpful self-compassion and stress management skills to use when times get tricky as a new parent. ⁠
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This group medical visit is available for registration on my website and if you’re out of province there is now a private pay option too.
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We have space for 15 pregnant people/couples, next session starts May 4 and will run in the evenings. We still have a few spots available. Registration link is available in my bio.

Questions? Comment below or DM me ❤️

Tag a pregnant friend who might benefit from this group!

We have some new art in our back clinic room! This bas-relief carving was originally owned by a midwifery advocate and professor of early childhood development at UofT. The artist is unknown. It was given to Tobi's mum in the early 90s and was displayed in the Reid family living room (perhaps subconsciously influencing Tobi's career choice?) before finding a new place of honour here at the clinic 😍

We're on a mission to update our clinic's shared library. Here's a snapshot of some of the new books being added today! What titles would you like to see on our shelves? 📚

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The UBC PAR Lab is recruiting for our PASS research studies!

If you live in British Columbia, are 18 years of age or older, and are pregnant or have recently given birth, check out the link in our bio to learn more and to participate!

If you are over 28 weeks pregnant or less than 12 weeks postpartum, check out our PASS - Effectiveness Study.

If you are less than 28 weeks pregnant, check out our PASS - Screening Study.

Head over to the link in our bio to learn more about our PASS Studies and to sign up!

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Survey links:

PASS Effectiveness Study (postpartum, or more than 28 weeks pregnant): https://flex.redcap.ubc.ca/surveys/?s=DTNAW7M7L4

PASS Screening Study (less than 28 weeks pregnant): https://flex.redcap.ubc.ca/surveys/?s=YJNM8MT9AX7RCPCP

In keeping with Dr Bonnie Henry's recent announcement, face masks are now optional at Cook Street Community Midwives, Victoria General Hospital, and all other healthcare facilities.

We no longer require clients to have a mask on during clinic visits, but please do consider wearing one you've been exposed to illness. As usual, please rebook your appointment if you're sick/symptomatic.

Some of our midwives may continue to mask according to personal preference. If your midwife is not wearing a mask and you'd like us to put one on, just ask!

An important new offering from :

Do you have a baby under 18 months? Are you feeling overwhelmed, sad or anxious? You are not alone. Join an online postpartum/post adoption support group for Island parents experiencing a difficult transition. Our groups run online and are led by experienced facilitators who know how hard this journey can be. Space is limited! Please call 604-255-7999 (1-855-255-7999 toll free) for an informal intake. This is a confidential p*er support group led by a trained facilitator. This group is open to parents whose youngest child is under the age of 18 months. We welcome q***r and trans parents, as well as parents who have adopted a baby or young child.

Posted • :
In addition to all her amazing work with breastfeeding/chestfeeding new parents, our own Dr. Noble is offering free prenatal workshops over at our friends .
We cannot recommend these highly enough.
Next workshops = March 27, April 3rd, May 1st.
Head to her website to register: www.thebreastfeedingcommunity.com

Our little clinic, and one of our incredible clients, was featured on yesterday! Midwife Tobi Reid was interviewed alongside Indigenous Midwife Melanie Mason about the maternity care shortage in Victoria. Midwives want to help, and we're asking for more support from the BC Government. Visit the link below for the full video ⬇

https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/b-c-midwives-say-they-can-help-improve-health-care-system-want-more-support-1.6267929

📣There's been a glitch with our website and we're working on getting it back up and running as soon as possible. In the meantime, please connect with us by email or by phone.

Posted • Pro Bono Pelvic Health & Physio Clinic!

From February 20th - March 17th Core Connection will be offering Pro Bono virtual physio intake assessments and 1-3 follow up visits.

Intake assessments will conducted over Zoom by second year UBC MPT student Gillian Rosenthal. A treatment plan and recommendations will be created by Gillian and Core Connection’s Registered Physical Therapist Lauren Sutherland. 1-3 follow up visits will then be offered where the treatment plan will be reviewed, and education and exercises will be provided for the issues you are dealing with.

This service is suitable for anyone who is pregnant or postpartum and dealing with pelvic health concerns, anyone who is not pregnant or postpartum and dealing with pelvic health concerns and anyone who is dealing with pain or injuries and cannot afford ongoing physiotherapy.

Please reach out to [email protected] or call 250-999-0568 and mention “Pro Bono Physio Clinic” to get on our preliminary list. These sessions will be first come first serve and booked once we have numbers and schedules finalized.

Expecting a June baby? We'd love to meet you! Visit our link in bio to submit an intake form.

Another great, local opportunity for labour & birth prep and pelvic health education! ⬇

Posted • 🤰🏻Expecting a new addition soon? Are you and your pelvic floor prepared?

Agile is excited to now be offering 6-week Baby & Birth Prep Classes. These 6 weeks will include education and information on antenatal preparation, labor and delivery as well as postpartum care, guiding you through your 4th trimester and your return to activity. These classes are a mix of education as well as exercise classes to strengthen and prepare your pelvic floor as well as teaching birthing positions for you and your birthing partner. Sessions will be led by our incredible pelvic health physiotherapy team as well as guest practitioners to lead specialist topics!

Check out our website under services (link in bio) for more class details about topics covered, what’s included, location and costs!

Posted • A limited space, special class offering! Come join Faraley Vander Schilden, Pelvic Health Physiotherapist, for an evening class to learn about the role of your pelvic floor in pregnancy and birth. This class is open to all people who are pregnant, hoping to get pregnant, or supporting a pregnant person. The $40 fee is billable under your extended physiotherapy benefits! Call the clinic at 250 381 7473 to reserve your spot!

Posted • Had a very ‘Call the Midwife’ moment today. Victoria got a huge snow dump, and the city was *not* prepared! The Victoria midwives rallied together and each midwife did visits close to home in order to avoid the dangerous roads...because babies don’t wait for snow plows!

Lucky for me, I got to strap on my snow shoes and hoof it across Cedar Hill golf course to check up on some fresh new humans! It was a glorious day out and a gorgeous excuse to get some exercise!

In case you ever doubted if you should when you p*e on that stick...

❄Snow day!❄
Due to the weather, all clinic appointments today are cancelled and will be rebooked. We are still available for urgent needs via the pagers.
We hope everyone is staying safe, warm, and cozy today!

Tomorrow is the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day was introduced in 2017 by Saskatchewan MP Georgina Jolibois, as a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action. As of July 2022, only 13 calls to action have been completed. As a white settler, there is still so much to be done. As some are aware, an estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families, experienced forced assimilation and mandatory attendance in residential schools across Canada until the late 1990’s.

National Day of Truth and Reconciliation is set aside to honour the 6000+ children who died in residential schools, and, as a society, begin to acknowledge the trauma that residential schools have on Indigenous people and their families. Residential schools have affected how Indigenous people interact with our colonial healthcare and education system, how they are able to raise their children, and how they can live their lives.

I encourage white settlers and allies to become uncomfortable examining our settler privilege and how that lens allows us to walk through this work as midwives with security. Indigenous midwives do not always have this privilege. As midwives, we all have the ability to provide safety, support, and community within the birthing environment. We can provide points of contact with our healthcare system that, while it still requires immense change, can be safe for all clients, including Indigenous people and families. But we need Indigenous Midwives within our midwifery community. We need their voices. For non-Indigenous midwives, I encourage us all to use our privilege to amplify the voices of Indigenous midwives and clients, as it’s not our voices, perspective, and knowledge that needs to be heard, it is theirs.

Please educate yourself with these resources, shared by our Indigenous Advisor and Midwife, Melanie Mason, who continues to do the incredible work and labour of educating midwives and all health disciplines and stakeholders across British Columbia about Indigenous Midwifery:

Orange Shirt Society Videos:
https://www.orangeshirtday.org/

Government of Canada Resources:
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html

APTN 1 Hour Commemorative gathering:
https://www.aptntv.ca/ndtr/rtc/

CBC Unreserved - Why the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation isn't just another stat holiday:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation-goal-1.6589363

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act - Action Plan 2022-2027https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/government/ministries-organizations/ministries/indigenous-relations-reconciliation/declaration_act_action_plan.pdf

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation - Interactive Map
https://nctr.ca/records/view-your-records/archival-map/

FOR LOVE is a film of resilience and resurgence.
https://forlovefilm.com/

Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada.
https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions-programs/online-courses/indigenous-canada/index.html

The MABC have started negotiations on the Midwifery Service Agreement 2022-2025.

We’re eager to alleviate strains on the current healthcare crisis with our negotiation priorities.

Read more at www.bcmidwives.com or link in our bio. ✅

Posted • We believe midwives can and should play a larger role in addressing the healthcare crisis by prioritizing increased access to primary care. This includes access to essential sexual, reproductive and newborn services, while addressing equal pay, the increased costs of business and unpaid work for on-call time.

“Priorities to be addressed through negotiation will facilitate relief for strained physicians by further building out team-based care, improve access to services in rural and remote communities, and deepen the commitment to reconciliation by increasing the capacity of service by Indigenous midwives…” - Lehe Spiegelman, president, Midwives Association of British Columbia.

These are the best birth photos of 2021—and they're breathtaking These birth photos are from the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition.

2022 — Butterfly Run Vancouver — Butterfly Run Vancouver Olympic Village Square, Vancouver, BC, Canada - Butterfly Run Vancouver & VictoriaOctober 1st,… - October 1, 2022

So very much THIS ☝🏻

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