my name is Devi Garner, my pronouns are she/her. I am from a family of European ancestry and was born in Aotearoa (New Zealand), the traditional territory of the Te Atiawa Maori. I have lived in four countries, but for most of the last 20 years I have been grateful to live, study, work, and raise my children on southern Vancouver Island. I acknowledge with humility and gratitude that I am an immigrant and settler in these traditional unceded territories of the Lekwungen-speaking Coast Salish peoples.

 

Long before completing my training as a Registered Midwife at the University of British Columbia, I grew up listening to my Auntie’s stories about her work as a midwife and I witnessed the excellent midwifery care that welcomed my five younger siblings. I was five years old when I attended my first birth and it made a big impression. My own children were born at home into the skilled hands of midwives. Providing support to friends and family as a doula and working as a medical office assistant for midwives made the call to birth work impossible to ignore. Prior to becoming a midwife, I earned a diploma in Business Administration. I have a background in environmental science, fine art, technology, and entrepreneurship. I find that midwifery is the thread that weaves all my interests and passions together.  I am particularly interested in perinatal mental health, community building, and working with families affected by migration.

 

Outside of midwifery, I maintain my wellness through belly laughs with friends, trying to keep up with my children as they step into adulthood, and by walking my clever dog and determined cat with my partner. I can often be found breathing in forests, paddling in the ocean, and muddling my way through yoga and meditation.

 

I look forward to facilitating connection and empowerment as you expand your family. I can’t imagine a greater privilege than to accompany you and your family through the transfmormative experience of growing a tiny human.