Knowledge Keepers
Our traditional knowledge is passed on by elders from our communities. Rhoda and Natsiq are our guides.
Rhoda Ungalaq
“If we do not pass on the knowledge of birthing… it is going to get lost like anything else.”
Natsiq Kango
“Inuit knowledge can live if one preserves it right. Midwifery has been one good tool used for years and years from coast to coast to coast to coast. Regions may vary but all outcomes are the same for health and wellbeing of a child and mother.”
2021-2022 Cohort
Below are the first Nunavummiut to enroll in our Traditional Birthing Knowledge Course! Aijungi!
Haley Alakan White
Winnipeg, MB
“Traditional birthing is important to me because it keeps our history and culture alive. It’s a natural way for women to give birth around a loving family and at home at their natural pace. It creates a connection to our roots, lands and family. Mothers are able to be comfortable with their birthing team, they will be able to rejoice in their experience of giving birth.
The western way of giving birth is so impersonal. The baby is taken away by strangers and held separately away from the mother. There is so much trauma, impersonalization and a rush from the western way of giving birth in the south.”
Ujarak Appado
“Child birth involved two births, the beginning of two lives. One, the new life of the child who is born. Two, the birth of a mother. It is a critical moment in the lives of two people. Supporting and witnessing that process is the highest form of serving another.”
Killulark Arngna’naaq
Yellowknife, NT
“I have just given birth in December. I am grateful to the people that helped deliver my irniq, but was aware of the medically focused approach to the process. I was discouraged from moving my posture into ways that my body wanted to be in, I was repeatedly encouraged to get an epidural when I clearly communicated I would prefer a natural birth. We have always given birth trusting our bodies with traditional support.
Reclaiming these practices and supporting individuals in approaching their birthing experiences in ways that they would like is important to me because I wish I was able to access this support. We are so lucky that this programming is being developed at a time when traditional knowledge is still available because, like so many traditions, if we do not share and learn them then they may end up lost.”
Maggie Aqpik
Iqaluit, NU
“For me, traditional birthing is important because I want to retain our way of life and to be able to pass down our traditional knowledge on birthing is everything to me because our elders who know and hold onto this knowledge are unfortunately passing away. I want this knowledge passed on to my children and their children and all future generations!”
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Uummati Perinatal Support Program Disclaimer Agreement
Uummati Perinatal; Support Program offers information on traditional and physiological childbirth and a variety of other topics that cover non medical support in the perinatal period. This training program is designed for educational purposes only. Any participant should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you or any client have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other health-care professional. Uummati Perinatal Support instructors are independent childbirth educators and facilitators and the opinions and ideas represented in classes and online are that of the instructor, not Uummati Perinatal Support Program.
All Uummati Perinatal Support information are provided as a informational training. By attending this training, you are receiving information and resources. What you do this information does not hold us liable. Uummati Perinatal Support Program, Tasiuqtigiit Hand in Hand Society and affiliates are not responsible or liable for any consequence resulting from acting upon the contents of this program.
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