Background
Huckleberry Midwives is an Indigenous-led midwifery practice that offers culturally relevant perinatal care on Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleilwaututh territory in Vancouver, BC. We hold priority spots for Indigenous families while also providing care for POC (people of colour) and non-Indigenous clients.
We are Indigenous & non-Indigenous/Settler midwives who work collaboratively to provide equitable, high quality care during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. We are primary care providers, with a scope of practice similar to a Family Doctor but only during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Although our “patients” are the birthing parent and the baby, we care for the whole family, community, and relations.
Recognizing that we are guests on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territory, we hope to grow our practice by following local Indigenous leadership, protocols and values. Indigenous midwives have been practising here for thousands of years, and our goal is to support Indigenous midwifery through our practice by mentoring new Indigenous midwives and birth workers.
In addition to providing clinical midwifery care, we also provide more individualised care for BIPOC families including supporting access to BIPOC doulas, Indigenous medicines, traditional foods, relationships with Elders and connection to other community supports.
Practising with Indigenous values means a slower kind of midwifery, taking more time to build relationships, individualise care and connect our clients to other good care in the community. Because of this, we will have a smaller case load and our goal is to be able to have more time to spend with each of you!
Where we work (hospitals and community)
Who we are
Keisha Charnley (she/her)
I am an Indigenous midwife from the Katzie First Nation gratefully living on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ territories. I attended my first birth in East Van 10 years ago and have been building my skills and knowledge as a birth worker ever since. In addition to clinical and community midwifery, I work as the Indigenous Midwifery Lead at Vancouver Coastal Health and Director of care with the ekw’í7tl Indigenous doula collective – a collective which seeks to build capacity for Indigenous birth workers and families in the context of reproductive health care.
Amanda Dowling (she/her) Hello! I am a settler midwife from Scottish and Irish descent. I graduated from the UBC Midwifery Program in 2014 and have worked at Pomegranate ever since. I have two children, ages 18 and 20. I am so grateful to be caring for your family.
Beth Duncan (she/her) I am a Settler midwife – 2nd generation Irish and Scottish, and a descendent of midwives. I have been working on the Brown Team at Pomegranate since inception in 2006, after graduating from the UBC Midwifery Program. I also hold a leadership position at BC Women’s Hospital as the Assistant Head of the Department of Midwifery. I have 2 children – ages 8 and 5 – and a sweet Husky dog that keeps me busy on my off time. I love being active and get excited to compete in age group triathlons. I have a working knowledge of ASL (American Sign Language) and am passionate about providing accessible midwifery care to the Deaf community.
Cello Lukey (she/her)
Hello! My name is Cello (pronounced “Che-low”) and I am a settler midwife from Japanese and German/Ukrainian descent. I grew up here in xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ territories and am so grateful to be providing care to my home communities. After graduating from the Ryerson Midwifery Program, I started working at Strathcona Midwifery Collective on the Huckleberry Team with special focus on Indigenous families, youth, and non-insured clients. I happily continue this work at Pomegranate. In my off-call time I enjoy playing banjo, foraging in the woods, and gardening in my backyard.
Our partners
Link to social media
https://www.facebook.com/Huckleberry-Midwives-100319795069624
https://www.instagram.com/huckleberry_midwives/
Link to intake form
Coming soon
Links to resources
https://ekwi7tldoulacollective.org/resources
https://www.kililabirthkeepercollective.com
My second pregnancy was very stressful and needed a fair bit of medical intervention and support. My midwives at Pomegranate were incredibly supportive, patient and helpful. They encouraged and supported my desire to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) by providing with helpful information to help me make informed decisions about my pregnancy. When I needed a consultation with an OB, they worked well with him and were very professional. I had planned a home birth, but needed to transfer to the hospital and the midwife ensured that I was cared for and had the best experience possible, in spite of the change of plans. I was able to have a medication-free VBAC and it was amazing. They provided great post-partum support and breastfeeding assistance. I highly recommend them.
Avital Kline
