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KILILA BIRTH KEEPER COLLECTIVE

Image by Adam Kring

OUR STORY

"Kilila" a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw word bestowed upon the Collective in ceremony in the Summer of 2020. A significant meaning translated to ”Butterfly"

We are walking together, in birth and life. We believe birth is a ceremony. Birth is connection, birth is community and birth is reclamation.

At Kilila Birth Keeper Collective, we are an Indigenous led support group of women and mothers from diverse backgrounds supporting families within the Greater Vancouver and surrounding areas.

We welcome families from all walks of life, family dynamics and gender identities. Our teachings focus on the four sacred directions of whole body wellness: our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual selves. From conception, pregnancy, loss, miscarriage, abortion and birth; our birth keepers provide unbiased full spectrum support. We hold an array of knowledge both through traditional teachings and clinical teachings.

Our story began as a small group of doulas supporting families within the Surrey area through a local outreach organization. We have since branched off and formed the Kilila Birth Keeper Collective. We now serve a variety of city locations such as Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Poco, Port Moody, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, Abbotsford, Surrey, Delta, Langley, Richmond and Tsawwassen.

Support is prioritized for Indigenous families, however if you are seeking to work with the collective, please reach out as we have an array of availability amongst the collective. Funding is available for Indigenous families through the Doulas for Aboriginal Family Grant Program. If finances are a barrier we offer sliding scale and payment plans See investment summary.

"A sense of self, a sense of purpose; a sense of being, a sense of community; you learn that from the womb...the earliest stages of life encourage us to recognize our responsibilities for teaching, honoring, and integrating children into all parts of the community, and this process begins during pregnancy."

Mosom Danny Musqua - Life Stages and Native Women by Kim Anderson

Photo: Marnie, Rayann & Yesenia (Courtesy of Huckleberry Midwifery Team)

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Indigenous Birth Keeper and Lactation Counsellor

Marnie Turner

"Way̓! isn̓qlxʷskʷíst, Xáy qʷət qʷ uł nw̓yápixčn̓. Marnie Turner.

I am Okanagan, French Canadian and European. I have supported North Americas First Peoples with all things postnatal for the past ten years. However, a few years ago I was gifted the opportunity to learn and work with Indigenous families prenatally and birthing. Since then, I have been providing full spectrum services, prenatal support and preparation, leading into birth and concluding with postnatal care"

Available for limited birth support and lactation support

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Full Spectrum Birth Keeper, Family Advocate and Certified Childbirth Educator

Corina Bye

"I am a mother of three wonderful beings. Each of their entries into the world so unique. I have been walking with families a long time now. 25 years in practice, the last 12 in birth work. Birth is ceremony and has the potential to be a great portal of healing power not just for Life Givers, but across generations. I love watching mothers and fathers be born, but I swoon when I see a Kookum step into her new place in the circle".

Available for birth and postpartum support. Read Doula Match Profile.

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Indigenous Birth Keeper and Certified Childbirth Educator

Yesenia Giron

"Hi, I’m Yesenia, an Ojibwe, Cree & Salvadoran mother to four! I believe birth is ceremony, whichever way your body releases, is a ceremony. It is when you become pregnant, that you find your place in community and it is in that community, where you find your strength. I focus on evidence based prenatal education, while holding space for the sacredness of birth. Let's bring birth back to the basics, to the land and to the people"

Available for teaching engagements and childbirth education/prenatal classes.

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Full Spectrum Indigenous Birth Keeper & Doula Training Facilitator

Stacey Williams

"I am from the Skwxw7mesh (Squamish) and Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo) Nations on my fathers’ side and Kwakwaka’wakw (Campbell River, Fort Rupert, Alert Bay, Port Hardy) Wuikinuxv (Rivers Inlet) and Haisla (kitimaat) Nations on my mothers’ side. I am a mother to 3 beautiful children. My dream for the future is to support the opening of a birthing center for Indigenous families. Your wants and needs are important throughout your entire birthing process. I am here to ensure your voices are heard and respected."

Available for birth support.

Full Spectrum Indigenous Birth Keeper, Certified Childbirth Educator & Student Midwife

Rayann Harris

"Rayann is Indigenous (Tsuut’ina Nation) and European. She has been helping birthing families as a Doula and a prenatal teacher for the past 15 years.Rayann continues to help encourage families to view Birth as an experience that can be shaped to be positive and rewarding. Birth is a time for women to honor and celebrate the power they hold as life givers. We need to as Katsie Cook Mohawk midwife says, “we need to honor the very first environments – the mother’s womb.”

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Full Spectrum Birth Keeper

Karen Winegarden

"Karen is a full spectrum birth keeper, with her current support prioritizing high risk pregnancies and walking along side families that require extra support. With her combined knowledge and lived experience, Karen’s calling, and passion has brought her to focusing and caring for families who are navigating substance use during the perinatal and postnatal period. Karen’s hopes and dreams are to open a birthing center and she has a love for home birth!"

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