We Are IH: Midwife enjoys supporting families through life change
Name: Tanya Momtazian (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Registered Midwife
Years of Service: 16
Worksite: Kootenay Lake Hospital
Community: Nelson
Ancestral Territory: Ktunaxa and Syilx. “I live in the Sinixt, Ktunaxa, and Syilx territory of the West Kootenays. Sinixt is not on the territory map because it was declared extinct by the federal government, which has recently been repealed.”
Favourite Quote / Advice to live by:
“I enjoy consulting and considering the iChing, an ancient Chinese Book of Changes. It talks about perseverance, harmony, planning, and strategy.”
Born and raised in Calgary to a white settler father from Alberta and a mixed ethnicity mother from Trinidad and Tobago, Tanya is the first midwife to join Interior Health’s Navig8 Emerging Medical Leaders Program, which prepares medical leaders to operate effectively in their current and future leadership roles through a mix of action-based learning and mentorship. With a deep passion for patient care, Tanya holds a number of midwifery-related roles while finding time to pursue outdoor activities with her family, and trying her hand at silversmithing and jewelry making.
Learn more about Tanya’s journey with IH
Tanya’s trajectory in health care started with her education. In 2003, she completed a bachelor of science, and in 2007, she earned her bachelor of midwifery, both from the University of British Columbia. She then followed up with a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University in 2012.
A practicing midwife since 2007, Tanya describes herself as “fun-loving, hard working, and caring,” and finds enjoyment and satisfaction in supporting families through a “transformational and enduring stage of their life” — the birth of a child.
“I also love working with a dedicated team of nurses, midwives, physicians and others who continuously strive to provide the highest quality, family-centred care to all those who walk through the door.”
In 2014, she co-founded Apple Tree Maternity, the first B.C. rural maternity collaborative clinic with midwives, family physicians, nurses and other allied health professionals.
“I enjoy supporting other rural maternity teams and communities to support their birthing services,” she says.
A mother of two school-age children, Tanya also holds various other roles that allow her to share her knowledge and experience with others, including: chair of the board of the BC College of Nurses and Midwives, adjunct professor at UBC Midwifery (where she teaches fourth year), and head of the midwifery department at Kootenay Lake Hospital.
Tanya’s proudest moment at Interior Health was being selected to join the Navig8 Emerging Medical Leaders Program as part of its second cohort. In a group of 25 physicians, she was the first midwife and she credits the program for its comprehensive training on both the soft and technical skills required to be a successful leader at Interior Health.
“It’s a two-year program that covers all different aspects of leading in a complex and ever-changing health-care system. It gives you well-rounded training and a really thorough overview of how everything works at IH.”
In her spare time, Tanya makes the most of what the West Kootenays outdoor lifestyle has to offer by hiking, road biking, downhill and cross country skiing, and snowboarding. She also has a “much disused” studio in her house, where she can tap into her creativity through jewelry making while satisfying the urge to “bang metal really hard.”
So how does she juggle such a busy professional and personal life?
“People say I’m quite organized,” she laughs. “But also, my husband does the grocery shopping and cooking, which actually takes a lot of time out of my life if I were to do it.”
Tanya nominates Shiraz Moola, physician (OB/GYN) to keep We Are IH going
“Raz has been a steadfast provider of OB/GYN services at our hospital for almost 20 years. He is a primary reason why the culture on the maternity floor of our hospital is kind, collaborative, and fun!” – Tanya Momtazian
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