Overview
Learn about our credit program for doula and midwifery services.
A midwife is a primary health care provider who is trained in the art of childbirth. The midwifery model of maternity care views pregnancy as a normal life event, and midwives are specialized in the care of a woman in normal childbirth circumstances, from pregnancy, through labour and birth, to the postpartum care of the woman and the newborn child.
A midwife is skilled in the use of natural methods to help with pain management, as well as emergency procedures. In the event of health problems for mother or baby, midwives may suggest consultation with a doctor. Midwives value informed choice, and mothers are the decision makers regarding their pregnancy, birth, and post-partum options.
Midwives value getting to know the childbearing woman and her family; appointments throughout pregnancy are often an hour or more. A midwife makes home visits after the birth, to answer questions, help with breastfeeding, and perform newborn checkups.
There are two midwives currently practicing in the Yukon; they present themselves below.
Yukon Midwives
Christina Kaiser
Whitehorse, Yukon
kaiser@northwestel.net
(867) 456-2062
My name is Christina Kaiser, and I have been practicing midwifery since 1997. I am German and studied in Germany through an apprenticeship, which I finished with a diploma in 2000. That is also the year I immigrated to the Yukon, and I have been raising my family and practicing as a midwife ever since.
I am the mother of four beautiful children, all of whom were born at home. As a midwife, I believe in a holistic approach, taking into consideration nutrition and other aspects of life in caring for my clients. I like to use herbs, acupuncture, and other alternatives to conventional medicine. I am a strong supporter of home birth, and that is also where my practice is, although I would consider doing hospital births if midwives had hospital privileges in the Yukon and the conditions were right.
I strongly believe that women should have the right to make informed choices about where and how they give birth and see it as my business to teach my clients (and anybody else who is interested) everything and anything they want to know or need to know about pregnancy, birth, and everything around it.
Feel free to contact me about midwifery or if you have any questions or problems concerning the childbearing year and, of course, if you are (or would like to be) pregnant and need a midwife.
Heather Ashthorn, CPM
608 Black St.
Whitehorse, YT
Y1A 2N6
midwifeheather@klondiker.com
(867) 633-6770
I am a midwife, certified through the North American Registry of Midwives. I have been living in Whitehorse for 14 years and practicing midwifery in the community for the last eight of those. I am a direct entry midwife, having completed my training in the apprenticeship model both in British Columbia and in Alaska.
I own and operate the Almost Home Maternity Centre in Whitehorse. We have operated as a free standing birthing centre in the past and currently provide prenatal and postpartum services on site. I also partner with a maternity nurse and a doula under the name “Birth Works.” We provide resources and services such as prenatal classes and postpartum support to the community.
I provide wholistic, primary care to women, infants, and their families throughout the childbearing years. Midwifery is safe, personalized, professional care that focuses on the individual needs of a woman and her family. The midwifery model of care is rooted in relationship, trust, informed choice, and continuity, and these goals are met by frequent prenatal, and even pre-conceptual visits of a length that suits the woman’s needs. Prenatal visits typically last an hour or two. Nine months of focused visits build trust and relationship between the woman, her family, and the midwife, and the woman can be assured of who will attend her during her birth and postpartum year.
Postpartum follow up is important. The weeks following the birth of a baby are miraculous and challenging and it has been shown that women tend to recover well, bond fiercely with their infants, and feel great if they receive appropriate, loving support when and where they need it.
I believe that the way in which we are carried in the womb and the way in which we are born have a profound impact on the rest of our lives. The potential is that our mothers are loved and nurtured while they carry and birth us and that we are greeted with gentleness, love, and respect when we enter the world outside the womb and that these are the teachings we carry forth throughout our lives. My intention working as a midwife is to join in the building of a healthy, strong, loving community in which women, children, and families are appreciated, honored, and well cared for, and in which health care professionals collaborate in the best interests of their clients.
