About Inlet

Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers – strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.
~Barbara Katz Rothman

I am very excited to be a part of the wonderful community of caregivers and families at Inlet Birth. As a long-time resident of the Tri-Cities, I am thrilled to be supporting families in my home community. I am a mother who has been profoundly shaped by my own journeys through birth and parenthood. Though my three births unfolded under vastly different circumstances, the spirit that connects them is one of support, informed decision making and empowerment. These three principles are what I hope to bring to the birthing women of this community. We can’t know how birth will unfold, but it is my greatest wish that women emerge feeling respected and honoured for the work that they have done.

I hold a Bachelor of Science in Midwifery from UBC. Prior to becoming a midwife, I worked as a doula and childbirth educator, and I loved my role as a teacher. I always felt inspired and motivated by the energy in the classes I taught, but what pleased me most was the relationship I was able to build with clients. This is without a doubt my favourite part of midwifery – getting to know you and your families. The babies are a sweet added bonus!

Prior to midwifery, I also received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from UBC. I am a passionate reader and a passionate – though often misguided – gardener. I look forward to walking this journey with you, as you welcome your little ones into your lives.

Birth – as experienced by the mother – is the Mount Everest of physical functions in any mammal. Unless we have seen it before, we can barely imagine that something so relatively huge can come out of a place that usually looks so small. And yet, it happens every day.
~Ina May Gaskin

My name is Tshengi Ndlovu, and I am a mother of three. Prior to moving to Canada, I lived in London, England where I trained and worked briefly as a Registered General Nurse. I decided during my nurse training that I wanted to be a midwife. I gained a Midwifery Degree in 1997 (BSc Honours) from Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford, England.

As a midwife in London, I had various roles and gained experience in all areas of midwifery care. I practised as a midwife for 12 years before moving to Canada in 2010. I completed the Multi-jurisdictional Midwifery Bridging Programme (MMBP) in March 2013. I began working with the team at Inlet Birth (when it was Beautiful Babies Midwifery) in November 2013, and I have been enjoying working with the families in our area.

I have been in love with babies since I can remember, and I knew, the minute I hit the maternity floor in nursing school, that I’d found where I was meant to be. I graduated nursing in 2009 and completed the labour and delivery specialty by early 2010. I’ve taught and worked in various capacities within the field ever since. I feel so privileged to work with families on one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking days of their lives and helping women discover their capacity to manage labour, birth, and motherhood. I’m very excited to have the opportunity to work with this multidisciplinary program–I love that Inlet Birth uses the team approach to its full advantage to provide diverse, evidence-based care to its patients. I’m in awe of all that urban healthcare has to offer because up north, where I come from, there is a small clinic and a nurse with a radio–and sometimes a doctor! When I’m not busy helping families grow, I enjoy yoga, crafting, outdoor activities and spending time with all of my friends’ little ones.

You are a midwife, assisting at someone else’s birth. Do good without show or fuss. Facilitate what is happening rather than what you think ought to be happening. If you must take the lead, lead so that the mother is helped, yet still free and in charge. When the baby is born, the mother will rightly say: “We did it ourselves!”
~Tao Te Ching

I am thrilled to be one of the founders of Inlet Community Birth Program. My midwifery career is my second one—I was originally educated at Ryerson University in the field of journalism, and spent two decades working in publishing as a writer and editor.

In 2003, I changed course and began my midwifery education with the Midwives College of Utah. My clinical training sites included a birth centre in El Paso, Texas; a midwifery practice in New Westminster, BC; a remote health centre in Fort Smith, NT; and a hospital-based midwifery practice in Thunder Bay, ON. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Midwifery in 2010, and completed the International Midwifery Pre-registration Program (a Canadian bridging program that orients internationally trained midwives to Canadian practise) in 2012. It’s been a long haul, but rather like a long labour, the results have been worth the effort. I love my work.

I was born and raised in British Columbia, and have lived in the Tri-Cities area for most of my life. I am also a mother to five children, and I am blessed with a partner who supports my career in innumerable ways. When I am not at work, I am parenting, practising yoga, cycling, reading, knitting, and travelling.

I am a Registered Nurse with 18 years of perinatal experience at Royal Columbian Hospital, working both in Maternity and Labour and Delivery. I obtained my IBCLC in 2015 and did some casual Lactation Consultant work on the Maternity ward until I started a permanant part-time position in 2017. I love working with families, and helping mothers and babies get off to a successful start.

With the move to increasingly early discharge from hospital, I am so excited to be part of the Inlet Community Birth Program which provides an opportunity for closer follow-up with families that may be struggling as they transition home. I feel privileged to work with such great professionals both in the hospital and now in the Community. My role is to support and provide education, guidance and encouragement through the early days and to help families reach their goals.

I am a mother of 2 adult daughters and, in my spare time, I love to travel, paint and spend time in nature.

I have been a Registered Nurse for 11 years in the specialty area of Perinatal nursing at Royal Columbian Hospital. I am very passionate about my work and feel honoured to be a part of the unique birth story of each family I care for. I learned, 24 years ago, when my own daughter was born, that few “stories” are more significant and more recounted in life, than the one depicting the way each child became part of the family.

I am excited to be working with the Inlet Community Birth Program as part of the collaborative, interdisciplinary team. I feel that families need our support before, during and after the experience of giving birth. Educating soon to be parents and listening to what their hopes are for their birth experience is vital, and the idea of being able to follow up with our families in the postpartum period is reassuring for them, given the fact that hospital stays are shorter these days.

I was born in Vancouver, raised in Burnaby, and currently live in New Westminster with my husband.

In all cultures, the midwife’s place is on the threshold of life, where intense human emotions – fear, hope, longing, triumph, and incredible physical power – enable a new human being to emerge.

~Sheila Kitzinger

My path to midwifery evolved through experiences in my own life.  I have degrees in both Psychology and Physical Therapy.  Since 2003 I have been an orthopaedic physiotherapist in private practice with a special interest in the pelvis and pelvic floor rehabilitation.  After having my own children, my practice evolved into treating many pre and postnatal women and their pregnancy and postpartum related physical concerns. 

I have a wonderful family including my husband and 3 children.  My own birth

experiences were faced with many challenges, through which I came to recognize the needs of women for support and advocacy through this transitional time of their lives.  I realized that I wanted to not only be involved in the physical rehabilitative process, but that I wanted to be involved in all aspects of maternity care.

I graduated from the UBC midwifery program in 2014.  I have since worked in a busy group practice in New Westminster. I have come to realize that it is important to me to slow down and really get to know the families that I am privileged to work with as I have in my physiotherapy practice. I am thrilled to be a part of Beautiful Babies Midwifery, caring for women and their families as a solo practitioner in my home community.  I envision my role as a midwife as one of empowerment through knowledge, education, support and advocacy. It is my goal to provide care that supports parents in creating the pregnancy, birth and new parenting experiences that feel right for their families. 

I feel honored to have shared in the experiences of the women and their families that I have already had the privilege of being involved with, and look forward to sharing many more special times new families that I will encounter.

Experience of the phenomenal capacity of our birthing body can give us an enduring sense of our own power as women. Birth is the beginning of life; the beginning of mothering, and of fathering. We all deserve a good beginning.
~Sarah J. Buckley

I was drawn to midwifery from a very different professional path, through my own experience of the transformative power of giving birth.  Having experienced its magical power first-hand as a birthing mother, I knew that birth was a place I wanted to return to as a midwife, with a wish to provide the same quiet, confident care my own midwives provided to me.  I treasure the relationships I develop with growing families prenatally, and consider it a great privilege to witness the “birth” of a new family — whether they are welcoming baby #1 or #12!  Gaining the trust and confidence of families is a deeply rewarding part of my work.  My reverence for supporting the autonomy of birthing women is great, and I take my role as a facilitator of women’s informed decision-making very seriously.

I am a graduate of the UBC Midwifery education program.  My training took place chiefly in the tri-cities and at RCH, with a rural year spent in Vernon BC.  Being a part of Inlet Community Birth Program is a sort of coming full circle for me, since some of the the midwives here served as my very first mentors when I began midwifery school!  I was born and raised in Port Moody and my family and I call the area home today.

I look forward to meeting the families at Inlet Birth and being a part of your journey into this amazing chapter of your lives!