We Are IH: Midwife enjoys supporting families through life change

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.

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.”

“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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