Pregnancy and birthing have always occurred in our communities, since time immemorial. Northerners had and have medicines, methods, and practices of birthing. Today, related ideologies and practices are highly medicalized and deprived of ancestral and cultural knowledge of the ways of pregnancy and birthing.

 

Our intention in developing an Indigenous Birthwork Curriculum is to have relevant teachings that are reflective of all regions in the Northwest Territories and that recognize and include the cultures and traditions of all NWT Indigenous Nations. The program will be a full spectrum birthwork training, which includes how to support families through family planning, pregnancy, and all pregnancy outcomes (prenatal, postpartum, labour and birth, miscarriage, loss, and abortion) with a focus on traditional birthing practices according to northern regions. Our goal is that this training will be a stepping stone to Midwifery education in the North.​