Ey swayel (hello). Tilyen tel skwix. Teli tsel kw’e The’wa:li. I am Stό:lō and was raised in my home community, Soowahlie First Nation. I proudly carry the ancestral name, Tilyen. I have enjoyed living on the beautiful unceded, ancestral lands of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Tsleil-Waututh peoples since 2009. I am a wife and mother to two young children.
I believe strongly in giving back to my community. I have spent more than ten years working professionally in Indigenous peoples’ health, including a variety of roles in health research, policy, planning, and education. I am a co-creator and co-facilitator of the ekw’í7tl Indigenous full spectrum doula training, and co-creator of the ekw’í7tl Indigenous prenatal curriculum.
From years of working in the health care system, and then becoming a parent myself, I have come to appreciate how significant an impact doulas can have on the experiences parents have during pregnancy, labour, and postpartum. In both of my pregnancies and births, my doulas supported me to own my role as a decision-maker, and to trust my body and my baby. I came out of those experiences feeling empowered. After the birth of my second child, I resolved that I, too, can help others to reclaim birthing and ease the transition into parenthood.
Pregnancy, birth, and the first year postpartum is a beautiful time for building and strengthening connections with our partners, families, communities and our ancestors. My goals as a birth and postpartum doula are to nurture the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual well-being of expectant and new parents; offer support to the family to welcome the new baby into their lives and their home; help build a community of support around parents and families through referrals and community resources; and give back to the Indigenous community through service to our babies, parents, and families.
Education and Training
- Bachelor of Science, with distinction (biology and psychology), University of Victoria
- Master of Public Health, University of British Columbia
- Certified Birth and Labour Doula, Doula Training Canada in partnership with Douglas College
- Certified Postpartum Doula, Doula Training Canada
- Certified Childbirth Educator, Doula Training Canada
- Pacific Post Partum Support Society Telephone Support Volunteer Training
- Infant and Pregnancy Loss Workshop, Doula Training Canada
- Miscarriage and Abortion Support, MORE WISE Continuing Education for Doulas
- Rebozo Workshop, Gena Kirby
- Down There for Doulas Workshop (Pelvic Floor and Diastasis), The Vagina Coach
- All Pregnant People: Trans Birth for Birthworkers, Collaborate Consulting (Trystan Reese)
- Loving, Dying, and Letting Go, The Institute For the Study of Birth, Breath, and Death
- Indigenous End of Life Guide, Douglas College & First Nations Health Authority
- Birth and Bereavement Doula, Stillbirthday (in progress)
- Standard First Aid and CPR-C
- Food Safe Level I
ekw’í7tl 