| About Us |
| |
| Principles of Midwifery Care |
| Continuity of care |
| |
You will have the opportunity to establish a relationship of trust
with your midwives. You will have the same caregivers throughout
your pregnancy, labour, birth and in the postpartum period. |
| Informed Choice |
| |
There are many choices to make in pregnancy regarding your care.
We support you as the primary decision maker. This involves discussing
available testing, procedures and interventions and their advantages,
disadvantages and research evidence. Our 45 minute appointments
give us the time to discuss these issues so that you can make appropriate
decisions. |
| Choice of Birthplace |
| |
Some women feel safer in hospital, while others feel safe and
more comfortable in the familiar surroundings of their home. In
accordance with international medical and midwifery research findings,
we support the choice of planned home birth as a safe option for
healthy women with low-risk pregnancies. |
| |
Midwifery care is free
to women who are residents of Ontario.
Funding is provided by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. |
| |
|
Midwifery care involves
clinic and home visits, physical assessments, lab work, time to
address
your questions, and discussion of a number of topics such as: |
| • |
Nutrition, exercise and lifestyle |
| • |
Normal physical and emotional changes during pregnancy |
| • |
Diagnostic procedures and medical interventions |
| • |
Preparation for labour and birth |
| • |
Abnormalities, complications and emergency measures |
| • |
Infant care and breastfeeding |
| • |
Postpartum adjustment and parenting |
| • |
Fertility awareness and family planning |
| |
|
| A complete explanation of our
philosophy and services is contained in our Informed
Choice Agreement. The full text of the agreement is here. |
| |
|
| |
|
| Madawaska Valley Midwives: Biographies |
 |
Madawaska Valley Midwives team. From l to r: Elizabeth Freestone, Bernice Daigle,
Suki Hardesty, Kilmeny Heron, Leslie Soopalu and seated is Lee Chantrell. |
Kilmeny Heron, Registered Midwife
The idea of pursuing midwifery as a profession began during my first pregnancy and the birth of my daughter in 1994. Not satisfied with my employment prospects after completing a degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Waterloo, I realized I needed the challenge and fulfillment that midwifery offered. I was accepted into the Midwifery Education Program at Ryerson University shortly after the birth of my son in 1997 and completed the program in 2004.
In 2005 I opened the practice with fellow midwife Leslie Soopalu (who has since moved on to greener pastures but remains with us as an administrator and second attendant).
The natural beauty of Renfrew County allows me to pursue my passions outside of midwifery. You will find my children and I paddling the beautiful rivers during the summer. The dog now stays behind since losing us for a month in the wilds of Quebec. Instead she is my constant running companion through the beautiful roads and hills surrounding my home. I also love to explore on my bike.....anything physical, because living and working in Renfrew County entails putting many miles on one's car! Lest you think I am all physical, there is nothing better than enjoying the morning sun with a good book in the summer, or a good book by a roaring fire in the winter. |
Suki Hardesty, Registered Midwife
Initially I trained as a Registered General Nurse in London (that’s the real one in the UK, not the one near Toronto!) then moved to Devon (beautiful county in south west UK) and trained as a Midwife. I practiced in a rural area on Dartmoor for 20 years, looking after families both at home and in the large level 3 Acute Hospital in Plymouth. However the overstretched and underfunded National Health Service made my daily work plans quite stressful, so when my partner was offered a job at AECL in Chalk River, I jumped at the opportunity to come to Canada. We arrived in September 2010 and I am loving working with Kilmeny at the Madawaska Valley Midwifery Practice. I have a personal bias towards Homebirths but it’s not my pregnancy, it’s yours, so wherever you want to have your baby I always feel privileged to be present at such a special time. When not at “work” (it doesn’t feel like a chore at all!) I am enjoying your wide open spaces with my Jack Russell dog, Cid (as in “Cid Vicious”) and one day when I retire, maybe will have the horse I’ve always wanted! |
Leslie Soopalu, Administrator and 2nd Birth Attendant
Kilmeny and I met at Ryerson University while studying midwifery. I graduated from Ryerson in 2004 with an Honours BHSc in Midwifery, and was a founding partner, along with Kilmeny, of the Madawaska Valley Midwives in 2005. I practiced as a Registered Midwife until September 2010 when I made the difficult decision to leave active practice. I continue to be committed to rural women’s health and work with Kilmeny and Suki as both a Practice Administrator (someone has to keep them in line) and 2nd birth Attendant to help ensure that midwifery remains an option available to women in the area. |
Bernice Daigle, Administrator
It just seemed right, to have the choice of a homebirth! That basic concept/belief has been a force at work in my life, from my own hopes for a homebirth (a long time before the midwives were established in Ontario), to seeing my eldest daughter under the care of a midwife for the birth of my grandson, and then to have my middle daughter become a midwife further deepened my belief in the importance of this fundamental birthing choice for women. Being a Practice Administrator for the Madawaska Valley Midwives is definitely the right place for me. And, did I mention all those cute little babies…… |
Elizabeth Freestone, 2nd Birth Attendant
I have been working as a 2nd attendant with MVM since 2006. It has been an honor to work with a group that facilitates woman and their families to birth in a natural and fulfilling way. I bring to the group over 25 years of experience as a Registered Nurse.
My career has primarily been at SFMH in the Emergency Room and later in the Hemodialysis Department. I have also worked as a Home Care Nurse, PSW instructor and on a Sexual/Domestic Violence Team. Throughout the 1990s I volunteered in Haiti, Nicaragua, and Guyana to provided free health care to less fortunate people. Overall I have learned that nursing is the hardest and easiest thing I’ve done.
Outside of nursing I indulge in travel, gardening and hiking with my dog. Life is good. |
Lee Chantrell, 2nd Birth Attendant
Born and raised in the UK, I have an Honours Degree in Education and worked for several years as an elementary school teacher in London, England. After moving to Canada in 1990 and a subsequent decade of traveling and international work, I have put down roots in the Madawaska Valley. Busy raising three children (all delivered by midwives), I currently work as a district manager and Advanced Care Paramedic for the County of Renfrew as well as part time work as a clinical instructor with the Ottawa Base Hospital Program (OBHP). |
| |
|
| |
|
