ReConnection Magazine ~ Spring 2008 Issue

Profile

Pomegranate Community Midwives

Vancouver, BC

Who is Pomegranate Community Midwives?
Pomegranate is a group of 7 midwives who have diverse experience and interests. We have come together because we share a vision of midwifery and women’s health. We are joined by instructors and alternative practitioners who help us create a centre for growing families.

Describe the meaning/choice behind the name Pomegranate Community Midwives …
Choosing a name for our business was more challenging than we had imagined. We wanted to look back at the rich history of women helping women through childbirth and beyond, as well as forward, to how we envisioned birth can impact society. We saw that family centred care was the key to helping build a community from the very initial stages to the more complex.

What is the symbolism of pomegranates for you?
Pomegranates carry meaning in many different cultures for women – fertility, fecundity and plenty are some words that are associated with pomegranates around the world. The multiculturalism of pomegranates was a big draw for us. Pomegranates are woven into legend and folklore, representing the earth goddess, righteousness, abundance, marriage and Godly creations. Recently we learned of a farmer’s collective in Kandahar that has been exporting pomegranates, even as far as Vancouver, and sustaining themselves amidst war and devastation.

what is community midwifery?
Pomegranate is a gathering place. Besides midwifery care, we house alternative practitioners, prenatal classes, yoga for pregnant women and mamas and babes, sibling preparation classes, baby signing workshops, breastfeeding classes, and monthly info nights on topics such as home birth and water birth. We have events throughout the year that draw in families that have been connected to Pomegranate in one way or another over the 2 years that we have been established. Our events support local mamas creating new business solutions as well as bringing together the many incredible people making a difference for families in our own backyard. We put out a bimonthly newsletter with current events, local highlights, reviews of recently published books, commentary on maternity trends and updates on what is going on at Pomegranate. Community midwifery is about bringing the birth of a family to the forefront of the social, political and economic stage so that we can make a conscious statement on how we want our village to raise our children.

how is community midwifery different than other models of midwifery care?
Community midwifery goes beyond prenatal, birth and postpartum care. It is the continuum of the daily events that help to nourish our community. Part of the joy in this for us is that we get to see these families grow. We are currently working with several community based programs such as a program for teenage mothers as well as the Aboriginal Mother’s Support Group. We hope that we can help bring midwifery to a greater group of women and families, especially to under-served areas and marginalized women.

what is the birth lounge?
Pomegranate is part of a collective of service providers for childbearing women and families. Birth Lounge was born out of our desire to offer families in BC’s Lower Mainland a chance to discover all that their community has to offer. We have been hosting free informational sessions on topics such as back health in pregnancy, doula care and the art of photography at birth. We have also hosted, Birth Fest, an event bringing together over 50 local service providers, vendors and performers and welcoming nearly 1000 of Vancouver’s Eastside residents for the past two years. Next month we will be screening The Business of Being Born.

What is your vision of what the future has in store for Pomegranate Community Midwives?
We hope that the future of Pomegranate Community Midwives will be a dynamic one. We currently have 3 midwifery students completing their practicum requirements and their vibrant presence reminds us that midwifery is growing and that there are brilliant women choosing to offer this comprehensive holistic care to women and families. We are physically watching the rejuvenation of midwifery care and our clients often tell us that having a student involved in their care has offered them a richer experience. We hope to continue to grow and meet the needs of our community.