OUR TEAM
WHAT IS A MIDWIFE?
Registered Midwives in BC offer primary maternity care to healthy pregnant women and their newborn babies from early pregnancy, through labour and birth, until about six weeks postpartum. Midwifery is grounded in the belief that having a baby is a natural life process and an opportunity for considerable growth. The intent of midwifery care is to enhance these life experiences.
Midwives listen, observe, educate, guide, and care. They order and interpret tests and discuss results. They screen for physical, psychological, emotional and social health. They are with women during pregnancy, labour and birth, normal and complicated. They catch babies. They do home visits postpartum. They help with breastfeeding and adjusting to life with a new baby. They work together and with other health professionals. They practice evidence-based, woman-centered maternity and newborn care and are an established part of the BC health care system.
Midwifery services are covered by the BC provincial health plan and referrals from a family physician, or other practitioner, are not necessary.
MEET THE MIDWIVES
Laura Cavaliero
BSc (Psych), BMW, RM
My passion for midwifery has grown from the deep belief that the mother-child relationship is a uniquely sacred relationship with the power to heal our communities and societies. I feel privileged to be able to walk alongside women and their families during their journey of pregnancy, labour/birth, and early parenthood. I also feel privileged to be in Kelowna and I look forward to spending many years in this community!
I trained as a midwife in New Zealand and enjoyed my 6 years living in a beautiful country with the strong cultural underpinning of partnership, participation, and protection. I strive to carry these principles forward in my practice as a midwife.
Meghan MacKenzie
BSc (Biology), BMW, RM
My path to midwifery began when I was a young girl; I used to visit my mother in the nursery of the hospital where she worked as a postpartum nurse and was always enthralled with the process of birth and babies. I entered my university studies intending to apply to medical school to catch babies. While at the University of Victoria I completed a course on issues in women’s health and discovered midwifery and the Canadian midwifery model of care. It was refreshing to learn that there was an existing model of care that privileged informed and contextual decision-making by women and that supported a full spectrum of care, from pregnancy to postpartum support and parenting.
After completing my first degree I traveled to East Africa to work and volunteer for several months. I was fortunate enough to be a part of quite a few births at a small medical clinic in Nairobi. It was there that my passion for birth grew even stronger. My enthusiasm for midwifery comes from its ability to empower mothers and families. I have a strong passion for promoting women’s rights and providing support to families as they experience pregnancy and birth.