From prenatal to postpartum: How Ocean Grove Midwifery and Q̓ᵂalayu House work together to support North Island families

Partnerships with health care professionals across the Island are integral to the success of our Homes away from home. It’s often how families first learn these programs are available for them.

That’s why we’re so grateful for Ocean Grove Midwifery Collective, a team of midwives that has offered prenatal and postpartum care in the Campbell River community and surrounding areas since the 1990s.

On any given month, the Ocean Grove team delivers 16 to 18 babies. Of the families they support, around 25 per cent of them stay at Q̓ᵂalayu House.

Office Manager Shauna Guthrie recalls what it meant for their clients from remote communities like Gold River, Cortes Island, and Sayward when Q̓ᵂalayu House first opened in 2021.

“I remember that people were really excited to have an option that was way less expensive and so much closer to the hospital.”

In Shauna’s eyes, Q̓ᵂalayu House’s biggest impact is on families from remote communities who experience pregnancy complications.

“Last spring, we had a family from one of the outlying islands who ended up at Q̓ᵂalayu House for eight or nine weeks. Just the stress of living two boat rides away with a complicated pregnancy – they needed to be close to the hospital. Without Q̓ᵂalayu House, I actually don’t know what they would have done. They couldn’t afford to spend $250 a night on a hotel for that long.”

And thanks to the great support we have in health care professionals like Ocean Grove Midwifery, Q̓ᵂalayu House can offer support for families in those challenging times.