Regulator warns unlicenced women touting midwife services in Kelowna, Salmon Arm

The BC nursing regulator is warning the public about two women moonlighting as midwives in Kelowna and Salmon Arm. According to a Nov. 13 BC College of Nurses and Midwives public advisory notice it has received reports that Kelowna resident Leila Naderi is holding herself out as a "birth attendant" and may be offering midwifery services and performing restricted activities without being licenced. Separately, the nursing regulator also said Salmon Arm resident Holly Malashewsky is holding herself out as a "traditional birth keeper" and may be offering midwifery services. Malashewsky, who appears to go by the name Holly Damara, was once a registered licenced practical nurse, but the College said she has never been a registered midwife and is not entitled to practice as a midwife or as a nurse in BC. According to the regulator only those who are licenced and registered are entitled to use the title midwife. "Any variation that includes the term midwife, such as 'traditional midwife,' is considered (an) unauthorized use of title," the public advisory said. "Unauthorized providers who use titles such as 'birth attendant' or 'birth keeper' are not midwives or registrants of the college." On Naderi's website for her business, Barefoot Birth, she described herself as a "primary non-medical caregiver to support traditional physiological unmedicated home birth." READ MORE: Another BC nurse suspended for snooping on medical records https://infotel.ca/newsitem/another-bc-nurse-suspended-for-snooping-on-medical-records/it107139 Her website goes on to say she practices "birth support work in the non-medical support-based birth model" for women who choose to "birth uninterrupted, at home, beyond the system and without licensed medical midwives, OBs, or doctors." She also called herself a "Birth Keeper" and highlights on her website that she's not a licenced medical professional. Naderi doesn't say how much she charges but does offer a variety of services including a placenta service whereby she will prepare it to be eaten in different forms - in a capsule or smoothy or cooked to eat. According to Health Canada, there is no scientific evidence eating placenta is beneficial and it does have potential risks. READ MORE: BC nurse swipes narcotics and falsifies records, again https://infotel.ca/newsitem/bc-nurse-swipes-narcotics-and-falsifies-records-again/it107117 Malashewsky's social media presence said she's a prenatal yoga teacher and a "birth and keeper" at "Sacred Spaces Birth and Death Keeper," she also appears to work at a funeral home. Along with Malashewsky and Naderi, the regulator is also warning the public about Fraser Valley area women Berkley McNamara and Michelle Short who have both held themselves out as birth attendants and may be offering midwifery services. The BC College of Nurses and Midwives encouraged the public to verify the registration status for anyone holding themselves out as a midwife which can be done here https://registry.midwives.bccnm.ca/Search/Search . Neither Naderi nor Malashewsky were immediately available for comment. To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer mailto:bbulmer@infonews.ca  or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .