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Once upon a time there was a French-speaking midwife...
I became a nurse at 23. I worked here and there from Montreal to French-speaking Switzerland via the Yukon. I discovered Banff in 1997. A Swiss friend was living there and I said to myself, why not. I knew very little English at the time but managed to make myself understood (you know what I mean). I started to work at the Banff hospital, a rural institution where you work in all the departments from the emergency room to maternity.
Everything Changes with a Birth
Our daughter Isha was born in 2000. I was more or less prepared for her birth. I had taken yoga and had done some reading. I knew it was a natural event and my body had to be my guide. Isha was born at the Banff hospital and Wow…that is where my passion for maternity began.
Giving birth is commonly compared to running a marathon. It is that and more since every aspect of the human body is involved as well as everyone present for moral and physical support.
After my maternity leave, every time I worked in the delivery room or had to care for new postpartum families, each moment grew more intense and my knowledge expanded. I discovered the world of the doula, an assistant of the couple during delivery and postpartum. The world of midwifery then came to me. A colleague was a midwife and had a private practice in Canmore. I started exploring and was tempted to find out everything I could about midwifery, especially offering the possibility to couples looking for a natural birth in the safe, warm environment they wanted, all this as long as the pregnancy and delivery were normal.
European Training
In 2002, I took my family to Heidi’s country in Lausanne, Switzerland and began my diploma in midwifery. It was to be a very intensive 18-month odyssey full of theory, practice, thesis, etc…I was never so organized. Our daughter was two years old and spending quality time with her dad who was back in his country and with his family.
In Europe, midwives are ever-present in hospitals. Some, unfortunately, are very medically inclined. They seem to have forgotten why they chose their profession. Others, on the other hand, are awesome and share their exceptional knowledge.
More Training in Canada
In 2004, I finished my training, obtained my Swiss midwifery registration and returned to Canmore. I knew that training outside of Canada would mean I would have to write exams to practice in Canada.
Since I could not practice midwifery right away, I accepted a position at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary as a delivery room nurse. I was learning more and more. After two years, it was time for me to get recognized as a midwife in Canada.
Midwives in Alberta do not work for hospitals but rather pursue their practices independently. Since community work was unknown to me, I was able to have a registered midwife from Cochrane Community Midwives, Joy W. Eklund, take me under her wing and become my supervisor. Together we experienced unforgettable moments and shared our knowledge. In addition to my supervised practical placement, I had to write national board exams.
My Own Practice
I covered a lot of ground to finally opened my own practice in the Bow Valley - Mountain Valley Midwife/Sage Femme. It is important to note that midwifery in Alberta began to be covered under Alberta Health Care April 1, 2009.
Mireille Caron, RN RM
Midwife, Founder,
Mountain Valley Midwife/Sage Femme
MOUNTAIN VALLEY MIDWIFE/SAGE FEMMEMireille Caron RN, RM
Meghanne Reburn RM
Heather Graham RN RM
PO Box 8285
Canmore, Alberta, T1W 2V1
P: 403-675-0333; F:403-609-0396
info@mountainvalleymidwife.com
Office Location:
201 - 50 Lincoln Park
Canmore, Alberta, T1W 3E9
Mireille, Meghanne & Heather
Welcome Your Enquires
Phone 403-675-0333
(please leave a message)
info@mountainvalleymidwife.com
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What’s the difference between a job and a calling?
It’s simple—you choose a job, but a calling chooses you. Since I was a small girl I have been drawn to the strength and beauty of women and their babies. This coupled with my natural curiosity for physiology and holistic medicine made midwifery my calling.
Ontario to Alberta
I grew up in a small rural community in Central Ontario where my winters were spent skiing and summers were spent on a remote Island of Georgian Bay. I first moved to Canmore in 1997 to pursue my dreams of spending more time in the mountains, skiing and climbing. Shortly after moving, my love of medicine and holistic health care inspired me to begin an undergraduate degree in physiology and women’s studies at the University of Victoria. I obtained my Doula certification from the Seattle Midwifery School in 1998 and shortly after that moved to Nelson B.C. It was here that I began attending births as a Doula and attended a series of traditional midwifery study groups.
Life Experience
In the years before my formal midwifery training, I spent time traveling, working, skiing and climbing in the mountains of South America, South East Asia, the United States and Canada. Although much of my time was spent in the mountains, my spirit always knew that I would return to midwifery. In 2005, I decided that it was time to begin my formal studies in Midwifery. I was accepted into the Ontario Midwifery Education Program and graduated from Ryerson University and with a BScH Hon. in Midwifery.
Practical Experience
During my time as a midwifery student I had placements in both rural and urban practices in Ontario and B.C, attending over 125 births in hospitals and at home. As a student, I became very involved in the field of interdisciplinary education and collaboration and was nominated to become the first Midwifery member of a Health Canada committee on interdisciplinary education and collaboration. I have a passionate belief that strong healthy communities are formed when open collaboration and communication between health care providers exist. It is my hope that I can bring some of this passion with me to my practice here in the Bow Valley.
Back in Canmore
I am so pleased to return home to the Canmore area and it my privilege to work with the women and families of the Bow Valley. It is my goal to support women to give birth with strength and dignity in the setting of their choice. I believe that pregnancy and birth are natural, normal and powerful events in a woman’s life. As one wise woman once said, “ We have a secret in our culture. It's not that birth is painful, it's that women are strong.” It is my hope that I can help you find your inner strength and help facilitate a birth experience that is both safe and empowering.
Meghanne Reburn, RM
Midwife, Associate,
Mountain Valley Midwife/Sage Femme
Heather Graham RN RM
In 1993, after completing my training as a Registered Nurse in Scotland, I moved to Banff in 1998 to work with labouring mom’s and new babies at the Banff Mineral Springs Hospital. This experience helped me to understand what an amazing experience it was working with pregnant moms and new families. As a result, in 2001 I returned to Britain to study midwifery at Southampton University completing my degree. In the 4 years to follow, I gained practical experience working as a midwife in Scotland in a busy maternity ward.
In 2006, I was drawn back to the Bow Valley and the beauty and splendor of living in the mountains. I recently completed my registration as a midwife in Alberta and I am so pleased to be following my dreams of being a midwife in the Bow Valley.
As a member of the Mountain Valley Midwives, I hope to be able to use my skills and experience to help support women to make their own choices and assist them in learning more about their bodies and that changes that occur during pregnancy. Pregnancy is an amazing gift. It is nothing short of a miracle to be able to bring a new life into the world and it is my pleasure to help support women and families during their pregnancy and in the first few weeks of brining a new baby home.
Heather Graham, RN RM
Midwife, Associate,
Mountain Valley Midwife/Sage Femme
