Bloom Midwives
Lisa Sutherland RM - on maternity leave until Jan 2011
My name is Lisa Sutherland and I live in Vancouver with my partner. I was drawn to Midwifery for its women and baby centered approach to pregnancy and birth, along with its commitment to wellness and preventative health care. Prior to becoming a Midwife, I lived in Victoria and was working as a project manager at a non-profit organization focused on urban health, food access, and organic agriculture. While working there I had the opportunity to partner with a range of organizations including pregnancy outreach programs, transitional housing projects, community centre groups, and diabetes prevention programs. During that time I trained as a doula and as a breastfeeding counsellor. Over the years, I have volunteered at a crisis line, at a birth control clinic, and for a number of grassroots organizations working towards social and environmental change. I also have years of experience working with children - teaching ESL, dance, drama, art, gymnastics, and supporting children with autism to reach their full potential. I am a graduate of the UBC Midwifery Education Program. In addition, I have a degree in Women's Studies and Sociology from the University of Victoria.
I am passionate about providing supportive and compassionate care with the goal of helping to make pregnancy and birth powerful and rewarding experiences. I am greatly looking forward to being a part of your journey through pregnancy and the transition to welcoming a new baby in to your lives.
Chloe Dayman RM
I'm a proud to be a part of Bloom Midwives. Working as a midwife holds a special place in my heart as I was born in Vancouver into the hands of a skilled midwife. To me, midwifery comes as a natural extension of my core values related to empowerment, family, the strength of women and a love of babies. Midwifery, pregnancy, labour, delivery, and postpartum never cease to fascinate and excite me.
I have been attending births now for seven years now and have had the privilege of catching close to two hundred babies. I have trained and practiced in both rural and urban centers in BC and Uganda, and have held hospital privileges in both secondary-level referral hospitals and tertiary referral hospitals in BC. I am a graduate of the UBC midwifery program and therefore have a strong grounding in evidence-based practice and practical experience. As well, I am a trained doula and breastfeeding counsellor. I have, in the past, volunteered on crisis lines, midwives' offices and provided my services as a postpartum doula. Prior to entering into midwifery I worked for nine years with autistic and other special-needs adults and children in community settings.
My hope is to offer midwifery services to women, their partners and families in and around Vancouver, and specifically within the West End and downtown communities. I enjoy the diversity working in a downtown midwifery practice provides and would like to continue to offer my midwifery services to all the women who enjoy our care including marginalized society- new immigrants, low income and women in complex social situations.
Thank you for the privilege of being a part of this life-altering experience. I, and the rest of the Bloom midwives, look forward to meeting you.
Li Yan RM
As a midwife and a mother of 2 children, I believe pregnancy and birth are normal and healthy events in a woman’s life. I love the philosophy of midwifery care: continuity of care and informed choice. I consider it as a great privilege to be a part of this magic journey and to help women achieve what is best for them and their family.
I graduated from China Medical University with a Medical Doctor degree and worked as an obstetrician in Northeast China for 8 years. Therefore I had lots of experiences with high-risk, complicated pregnancy and birth. I moved to Canada in 2005. My passion for women’s health and birth led me to go through the International Midwifery Pre-registration Program at Ryerson University and change my focus to provide midwifery care to low-risk, normal pregnant women and babies. I’ve been practicing midwifery in Downtown Toronto since 2008. As an immigrant myself, I am able to provide intimate and personalized care to women with different background, including new immigrants, low income families and women who speak little English.
I am extremely happy to move to Vancouver with my husband and 2 children, who were born in the caring hands of midwives in China and in Canada. I speak English and Mandarin. I look forward to sharing my unique experience with you and walking with you in the paths of pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.
Barbara Barta RM
Barbara Barta RM began studying midwifery in 1995. Barbara's educational background includes three years of university study in Biochemisty, two years of self-directed study in midwifery and women's health and three years of study at the Midwifery Education Program at the Seattle Midwifery School. She holds certificates in breastfeeding counseling, childbirth education, nutrition and herbalism. Barbara actively worked with the Midwifery Task Force during the inception of legalized midwifery in British Columbia and continues to contribute to the advancement of individual and societal levels of health care with political activism and education. Her community work includes serving on the Board of the College of Midwives of British Columbia for two years, the Kelowna General Hospital Maternal-Child Accreditation Team, Quality Improvement Committee and Perinatal Working Group.
Barbara was owner and sole midwife in practice in Kelowna BC for six years. She then worked in a northern Quebec Inuit village as Mentor and Instructor in the Maternity Department and has been serving the Vancouver area in the past year including several weeks at Bloom Community Midwives.
Barbara is honoured to offer women, their new babies and their families with midwifery care. In working with the women and families in our community, Barbara hopes to authenticate the incredible power and knowledge within all people as we strive for optimal wellness.
Hedieh Montazer RM (joining Bloom in August)
My name is Hedieh Montazer. I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Health Sciences and Midwifery in 1993 from Tehran University ( Iran) and worked as a midwife for nine years in various urban and rural settings in Iran, gaining a great deal of valuable experience in the process. My first motivation to become a health care provider originated from when I was very young assisting my father in his pharmacy. I developed a passion to be involved in diseases and cures then realized the significance of midwifery and was motivated to seek an education in this field. After finishing my education, I started working at a clinic as a midwife providing prenatal and postpartum care as well as family planning and IUD. After three years, I continued my journey at a hospital as a midwife providing intrapartum care and delivery for six more years. I have been blessed with two children, a sixteen year old daughter and an eleven year old son.
I immigrated to Canada and successfully completed the International Midwifery pre- registration program at Ryerson University in September 2007. During my training, I had my clinical placement with Midwifery Services of Durham in Ajax, where I fell in love with the Canadian model of Midwifery. In addition of being able to work with Countryside Midwives in Perth County, where most of our clients were Amish and Mennonite with a 50% rate of home births, I worked with Guelph Midwives in Guelph, Ontario.
Clinic Administrators
Amy CaseyI fell in love with babies and birthing after the birth of my daughter, Maya. The caring support that I received throughout childbirth and motherhood inspired me to work with women and babies. I love my job and I love being a mom.
I study herbal medicine ,nutrition, pregnancy and natural childbirth. Aspiring midwife? Maybe someday….
Jenn King
I work at Bloom part-time and I love it. In 2008, I decided to follow my passion and made a career change. I consider myself lucky that I was able to join the team at Bloom at that time. Working here has presented a fantastic opportunity to learn and grow while building my own business. I became a Hypnotherapist because I wanted to work with women from conception to postpartum: I am passionate about this and am moved daily by the miracle of new life. I believe in empowering women via knowledge and giving them the tools to naturally achieve the beauty of 'Normal Birth' which is why the midwifery model is so appealing to me. I am honored to work with such wonderful and giving women - I am continuously astounded and inspired by the dedication of midwives and am proud to be part of this team.
Aside from being a Board Certified Hypnotherapist, I am also a Certified HypnoFertility Specialist, Painless Childbirth Specialist, Hypno-Doula & Birth Doula and Childbirth Educator: the FIRST Hypnobabies Instructor in Canada!
