Traditional Birth Support & Advocacy
Serving Women in BC and Beyond
FORWARD
If you are a resident of British Columbia and would like to understand the limitations and acceptable legal framework of Traditional Birth Support Service, please refer to the Health Professions Act - Midwife Regulations on the BC Government website to ensure that you are receiving legal, traditional birth support from your unlicensed, non-medical birth support worker.
Traditional Birth Support Workers ARE NOT medically licensed health professionals nor are they trained licensed medical midwives.
If you are seeking licensed medical midwifery management in Canada,
please refer to the following resources by province:
BC: Midwives Association of British Columbia
AB: Alberta Association of Midwives
SK: Midwives Association of Saskatchewan
MB: College of Midwives of Manitoba
ON: Association of Ontario Midwives
QC: Regroupment les Sache-Femmes du Quebec
NS: Association of Nova Scotia Midwives
NB: Midwifery Council of New Brunswick
PEI: Prince Edward Island Request for Midwifery Care
NL: Newfoundland and Labrador Central Health Midwifery Request Phone Number
YK: Government of Yukon Midwifery Program Request
NWT: I couldn't find a resource. But I did find this article. Looks like services are being cut circa 2024
NUNAVUT: Quick search found an Inuit Traditional Birth Advocacy Resources but no database
Traditional Birth Support Workers ARE NOT medically licensed health professionals nor are they trained licensed medical midwives.
If you are seeking licensed medical midwifery management in Canada,
please refer to the following resources by province:
BC: Midwives Association of British Columbia
AB: Alberta Association of Midwives
SK: Midwives Association of Saskatchewan
MB: College of Midwives of Manitoba
ON: Association of Ontario Midwives
QC: Regroupment les Sache-Femmes du Quebec
NS: Association of Nova Scotia Midwives
NB: Midwifery Council of New Brunswick
PEI: Prince Edward Island Request for Midwifery Care
NL: Newfoundland and Labrador Central Health Midwifery Request Phone Number
YK: Government of Yukon Midwifery Program Request
NWT: I couldn't find a resource. But I did find this article. Looks like services are being cut circa 2024
NUNAVUT: Quick search found an Inuit Traditional Birth Advocacy Resources but no database
Birth is Sacred, Sovereign, Natural, and Wild.
Through It, we Celebrate our Innate Capacity.
Reclaim your Body and Birth Free with me.
Welcome to your Journey!
Through It, we Celebrate our Innate Capacity.
Reclaim your Body and Birth Free with me.
Welcome to your Journey!
At Barefoot Birth, Leila Naderi supports women in all things birth with gentle traditional wisdom, traditional birth education & advocacy, herbalism, sisterhood and love.
She first began attending birth as a doula in the local hospital, the local midwifery clinic, and private homes. She was guided and supported by Malachite Midwives and well-known Okanagan second attendant Terra Reindl.
She also had two homebirths of her own (now aged 11 and 14), and one free birth miscarriage of twins in her bathtub.
Over the years, her work grew more and more traditional.
In 2021, just over decade after she began birth work, she stepped away completely from acting as a doula to women working with medical managers and medically licensed practitioners like midwives and OBs. She fully immersed herself in offering service to women seeking primary non-medical traditional birth support in physiological unmedicated spontaneous un-medically-assisted home births in British Columbia.
She completed the Wise Woman Way Doula Certification with Gloria Lemay out of Vancouver, BC, studied ethnobotany at UBCO, and is currently completing the Breech Without Borders advocacy training.
Every summer her services shift away from primary support birth service as she makes room for her life long passion and ongoing career: original music, music education, & jazz.
NOTICE: With the pandemic four years behind us now, her travel and recording projects for music have her away from home too often. She is still providing remote traditional birth service through educational programs, advocacy, hourly consultations, bone closing ceremonies for women of all ages, grief support for loss during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, and placenta encapsulation dependent on Guess Date.
Check out the quick list of Traditional Birth in British Columbia FAQ's below!!
For service, fill out a Service Request Form.
Happy birthing!
Love
Leila
She first began attending birth as a doula in the local hospital, the local midwifery clinic, and private homes. She was guided and supported by Malachite Midwives and well-known Okanagan second attendant Terra Reindl.
She also had two homebirths of her own (now aged 11 and 14), and one free birth miscarriage of twins in her bathtub.
Over the years, her work grew more and more traditional.
In 2021, just over decade after she began birth work, she stepped away completely from acting as a doula to women working with medical managers and medically licensed practitioners like midwives and OBs. She fully immersed herself in offering service to women seeking primary non-medical traditional birth support in physiological unmedicated spontaneous un-medically-assisted home births in British Columbia.
She completed the Wise Woman Way Doula Certification with Gloria Lemay out of Vancouver, BC, studied ethnobotany at UBCO, and is currently completing the Breech Without Borders advocacy training.
Every summer her services shift away from primary support birth service as she makes room for her life long passion and ongoing career: original music, music education, & jazz.
NOTICE: With the pandemic four years behind us now, her travel and recording projects for music have her away from home too often. She is still providing remote traditional birth service through educational programs, advocacy, hourly consultations, bone closing ceremonies for women of all ages, grief support for loss during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, and placenta encapsulation dependent on Guess Date.
Check out the quick list of Traditional Birth in British Columbia FAQ's below!!
For service, fill out a Service Request Form.
Happy birthing!
Love
Leila
What are you seeking?
"Attending birth is like growing roses. You have to marvel at the ones that just open up and bloom at the first kiss of sun but you wouldn't dream of pulling open the petals of the tightly closed buds and forcing them to blossom to your time line." -Gloria Lemay, Vancouver
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is a Birth Support Worker?
How did we all get here in the grand scheme of things?? Birth! And women have been birthing since the dawn of the human species. A Traditional Birth Support Worker (TBSW) or Birth Companion or Birth Keeper is a woman who offers pregnant and birthing women a support-based model of non-medical care. She uses wisdom and knowledge gleaned over thousands of years to support women in their physiological non-medicated spontaneous births with herbs, intuition, and closeness. In today's day and age, she also comes prepared with a deep and critical understanding of modern research and empowering resources to support her client's free agency and right to make informed decisions. She listens closely to the birthing woman throughout her pregnancy and birth, offers emotional and spiritual support, heeds a woman's requests during her natural birth process, and offers guidance when asked. She works slowly and patiently right alongside the birthing woman and her family as baby emerges on its own unique timeline.
What is the difference between a TBSW and a Midwife?
A Medical Licensed Midwife is "a licensed professional who provides primary care to clients and babies during pregnancy, labour, birth, and the postpartum period. As primary care providers, midwives may be the first point of entry to perinatal services and are fully responsible for clinical decisions and the management of care within their scope of practice. A midwife completes a four-year university program that covers a wide variety of subjects related to midwifery, ethics, and clinical skills. After graduating, and before being granted practising registration with the BC College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM), a national exam must be completed.In B.C., only midwives who are registered with BCCNM can call themselves "midwives" or “registered midwives." To learn more about midwifery, visit the Midwives Association of BC." -From the BC College of Nurses & Midwifery
A TBSW is NOT a licensed medical professional, and thusly does not offer perinatal services, clinical decision, nor management of care. A TBSW does not complete centralised training and may come to her work in a variety of pathways including personal experience, lineage, Indigenous knowledge, apprenticeship, and a variety of programs offered globally. She is does not complete an exam, nor does she call herself or refer to herself as a "midwife" or "registered midwife." She also may not nor does she choose to offer any of the clinical practices listed below, according to the law in British Columbia:
1. Perform internal vaginal exams (a test created by a man in the 1500s - does not apply in Traditional Birth Work, creates room for bacterial infection, and why put anything in to a place where everything is coming out?)
2. Deliver the baby (instead, a TBSW may assist the mother if the mother's partner's hands are holding her, in getting the baby to her body and chest. Mostly mothers or partners scoop up their babies)
3. Administer medicines, pharmaceuticals, injections and the like, nor perform any clinical tests, requisitions, or procedures (this in my humble opinion needs no explanation. No TBSW should ever be offering you any of these. Ever.)
If your TBSW offers anything other than traditional birth support, she is acting beyond her legal capacity. If you want any of the above listed clinical practices, understand the legal risk involved and make informed decisions.
What if I give birth really fast and your TBSW doesn't make it?
First off, congratulations!! You just had an unassisted unmedicated physiological spontaneous birth like all mammals are capable of, and that's really awesome!! Secondly, the chances of that happening are really slim, but if it does occur, be sure to discuss how your TBSW's fees will be handled.
What about breech births?
Breech births happen and are handled safely in many parts of the world. Get informed about breech birth and make informed decisions. Members of the public can receive training in Breech Birth from Breech Without Borders, an advocacy program that informs of risks associated with cesarean birth and improper breech support, and explores the real nature of breech birth and how it, just like other presentations, is completely normal. 70% of breech babies can be born in the supine position with no support. Check out this bulk of information and get informed, here!
What if my blood type is Rh-?
You and your TBSW will have a discussion about how you'd like to manage the risks of sensitisation, what it is, and whether or not you'd like to include clinical work in your pregnancy. The management of your medical needs are up to you. The TBSW does not perform tests and cannot provide medical requisitions for tests on your blood because she is not a licensed medical practitioner. Find out your blood type if you are concerned and keep in mind that most sensitisation occurs because of faulty abortion procedures from the 90s and having had previous births. Know the risks. Be informed. And make your choices accordingly. Your TBSW should be able to support you however you wish to proceed but each service provider has different preferences so make sure to communicate clearly what your wishes, your self-management, and informed decisions on this matter are.
What about placenta previa?
Placenta previa is a rare and often misdiagnosed circumstance in which the placenta covers the cervix and baby cannot emerge naturally. In 95-99% of normal low-risk births, the placenta will begin to move upward with the natural progress of the growth of the uterus around 30 weeks making room for the baby to emerge naturally through the vagina. If the mother is experiencing a lot of bleeding (bright red blood) during her pregnancy, placenta previa could be a cause and an ultrasound or vaginal exam performed by a licensed medical professional may help diagnoses. There is no way to traditionally move a placenta out of the way and most cases (although extremely, and like I mean, extremely rare) will be referred to a cesarean by a medical professional.
How do I register my baby with Vital Statistics if I have an unassisted birth?
To register your baby, visit the BC Vital Statistics website, here:
Birth Registration General Information
You will need to fill out an online registration form (if your baby is still under one year old when you register), found here:
Online Birth Registration
You will also need to fill out, and print the Unassisted Birth Checklist, found here:
Unassisted Birth Checklist and Form VSA404b
You will need to send all the items requested on the Unassisted Birth Checklist to the following address within 30 days (90 days max to avoid complications):
Vital Statistics Agency
PO Box 9657 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, B.C.
V8W 9P3
For more information, please use the following contact information: Victoria: 250-952-2681
Toll-Free within B.C.: 1-888-876-1633
Email Vital Statistics
What about my placenta?
The care of your placenta is up to you. Leaving the cord intact has plenty of health benefits for baby and momma. Most placentas, when left to birth naturally will emerge whole, intact, and healthy. Please see THIS VIDEO to understand how to assess your placenta and make sure it is fully intact. How you wish to handle your placenta should be discussed with your TBSW and determined before birth. Options include disposal, freezing, encapsulating, refrigerating for burial, ingesting in a smoothy. For support with placenta encapsulation or to learn how to DIY, please fill out my service request form located here.
What about blood?
Blood, blood, blood. The nourishing life force of the Great Mother. What we've been gifted with as mothers and women with wombs. Our bodies increase blood by 30% upon becoming pregnant to support new life. When we give birth, we release all that blood to ensure the healthy functioning of our own hearts. So blood, is good. Look for several signs that the loss of blood is abnormal:
1. Lethargy in the mother
2. Paleness
3. Lack of attentiveness to the baby
Most haemorrhage is due to induction methods whether natural or medical and so induction is not recommended in traditional birth settings. It is thusly very rare with statistics well below the 5 percentile. Some TBSW's bring a birthing tea with them to support uterine contraction and blood clotting. Reach out for the recipe and proper preparation. It can also be helpful to increase Vitamin K via Nettle Tea and Alfalfa supplements but not necessary by any means. Always be mindful of taking herbs and observe your body's reactions. If something doesn't feel right, stop immediately. Follow your intuition. Your body knows best and everyone is unique. There are traditional methods of stopping hemmorrhage but you need to become well informed of those methods, whether or not you and your family would take on the risks associated with them, or choose to transfer to hospital in the rare cases of its occurrence. This is a great conversation to learn about your TBSW's limitations and where your comfort levels reside.
What if I'm over 35?
Join the club!! Women around the world birth all the way until the last drop of blood, some with upwards of 12 children to their name. There is little risk when good health and nutrition are attended to throughout the pregnancy. In fact, recent research says that women who give birth over 40, enjoy the magical benefit of her stem cells regenerating with the science pointing to an increased life expectancy. Who would've thunk that in a world of geriatric diagnoses, birthing later on in life could be good for you. You may always opt to have tests done privately through walk-in clinics. Most TBSW's will support women of all ages, but always communicate to be sure and if you choose to have any clinical tests done, remember that those are done through walk-in clinics or by medically licensed professionals.
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