Our midwives work in small teams.  A team of midwives will be responsible for your care throughout pregnancy, birth, and 6 weeks postpartum.  You’ll have the opportunity to get to know each midwife and develop a relationship of trust over time.  Having a small group of familiar midwives provides continuity for clients, which helps build feelings of comfort and safety.  Two midwives will attend you in labour (one for mom, one for baby).  All midwives at our clinic practice with the same philosophy of care.

The Green Team (from left to right): Eileen, Sandra, Amy, Krista, and Megan

The Blue Team (from left to right): Colleen, Mojgan, Carey, and Joanna

THE BLUE TEAM

Mojgan Dostar

Mojgan Dostar is originally from Iran, and graduated as a midwife with Bachelor of Health Science (Midwifery) in 1994. She worked as a full time midwife in Iran at the training and private hospitals labour and delivery unit. Ms. Dostar was the supervisor of Labour and Delivery unit in a private hospital. Ms. Dostar has worked in the remote areas and experienced breech deliveries and vacuum assisted birth as allowed and has worked with people from many different social and ethnic backgrounds. Midwifery is Ms. Dostar’s passion, and she really enjoys working with pregnant and non pregnant women. Ms. Dostar moved to Canada in 2001 and graduated from McMaster University with Bachelor of Health Science (Midwifery) in 2009. She did her clinical placements in Hamilton and Toronto and she is a clinical preceptor for midwifery, nursing and medical students.

Carey Murphy

Carey Murphy is a graduate from the Midwifery Education Program with a Bachelor of Health Science-Midwifery degree from Laurentian University. Carey was born and raised in Thunder Bay and has strong ties to the community. She and her husband have two children that were born into the hands of midwives. Prior to entering midwifery, Carey worked as a doula for several years, supporting women through their pregnancy and birth experiences. Carey was also active in the consumer group Advocates for Northern Midwifery Care who promotes and supports midwifery in the community. Additionally, Carey has a diploma in Early Childhood Education and has worked with young children and families for many years. Carey is extremely pleased to be practicing in this community.

Joanna Duke

Joanna received her BHSc in Midwifery from Laurentian University.  She holds a previous HBSc degree in Biology from Lakehead University.  Before pursing midwifery, she worked in government and healthcare administration.  You may recognize her from her time working as an administrative support or as a senior student with Maternity Care Midwives.  Joanna was born and raised in Thunder Bay.  She is excited for the opportunity to practice in her hometown.  Joanna is grateful for the privilege to support and learn from the families of Northwestern Ontario.  When she isn’t on-call, you’ll find her in the kitchen or outdoors with her dog.

Colleen Johnston

Colleen Johnston received her degree in Midwifery from Laurentian University and completed her final placement in Thunder Bay with Maternity Care Midwives. She is excited to be joining Maternity Care Midwives for her first year of practice as a midwife and feels incredibly honoured to be supporting clients in their journey to parenthood.

She is originally from the Guelph area, but she has spent the majority of the last ten years in Halifax and on the west coast of Canada. Her journey to midwifery has been somewhat winding. Prior to entering the Midwifery Education Program, she lived and worked off the grid on a small island off of the Northeast coast of Vancouver Island. It is there where she developed a keen interest in providing healthcare to people in rural and remote settings. She has also spent time working as a lead farm hand on an organic farm in British Columbia and studied Gender and Women’s Studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

When she is not living the on call life she like to travel, read, garden and enjoy live music.

THE GREEN TEAM

Sandra Shymko

Sandra Shymko graduated from the Midwifery Education Program in 2002 with a Bachelor of Health Sciences-Midwifery degree from McMaster University.  Sandra was born and raised in Thunder Bay, and her previous career was as a Teamster/Farmer/Interpreter at Old Fort William for 18 years. Sandra completed her clinical placements in Guelph, London and Ottawa, and was thrilled to return to Thunder Bay to work in her community in the city and region she loves so much.  Sandra is a clinical preceptor for midwifery, nursing and medical students.

Amy Borges

Amy holds a Bachelor of Health Science – Midwifery degree from Laurentian University, and a degree in Physical and Health Education from the University of Winnipeg.
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Amy was born and raised in Winnipeg to a large Portuguese family (one of seven children)! Hearing of her sisters’ experiences with midwives and her grandmother’s role as a midwife in Portugal led to her volunteering as a doula in Honduras. This solidified her desire and passion to pursue midwifery and become an advocate for safe and equitable healthcare for all pregnancy/birthing people.
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In her free time Amy enjoys traveling, hiking, swimming, and visiting her many nieces and nephews. She is honoured and grateful to be in the North, working with the midwives and clients at Maternity Care Midwives and looks forward to meeting you all!

Chantal Dube

Chantal was born in Winnipeg but raised in Thunder Bay. After graduating from the Midwifery Education Program at Laurentian University, she returned to Thunder Bay to begin her career as a midwife. Chantal is happy to be practicing in the comfort of her hometown while providing supportive and compassionate care to her clients throughout pregnancy, labour & delivery, and the postpartum period. Aside from a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Midwifery, Chantal previously completed two degrees at the University of Ottawa including an Honours Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences and a Master’s of Science in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences. Chantal completed her first midwifery placement at Ottawa Valley Midwives in Carleton Place. She began her senior year in Peterborough at Kawartha Community Midwives but finished her final midwifery placements at New Life Midwives in Bowmanville. She also completed some of her placements in Ottawa, where she resided for over 10 years. Chantal has a strong interest in research and hopes to work on projects specific to perinatal care in Northern Ontario and for Indigenous populations. When she isn’t busy catching babies, Chantal enjoys running, spinning, baking, travelling, and spending time with her partner, friends, family as well as her big fluffy Goldendoodle named Ralphie. She is excited to begin working at Maternity Care Midwives on the Green team & can’t wait to get to meet all of her new clients!

Megan Seargeant (Maternity Leave until Sept 2024)

Megan Seargeant is a graduate from the Midwifery Education Program with a Bachelor of Health Science-Midwifery degree from Ryerson University. Her previous academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts- International Development from Dalhousie University where she focused on global and Northern challenges surrounding infant and maternal health. Megan was born and raised in Kaministiquia and Thunder Bay. She is excited to return home to practice midwifery in her home community and passionate about expanding the number of women able to receive midwifery care in the North Western Ontario Region. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, hiking, canoeing and camping.

Eileen Abbey (Retiring April 1st 2023)

Eileen Abbey trained as a midwife in England in 1989, and has worked extensively in the more remote areas of Canada, namely the Northwest Territories, Newfoundland and Northern Saskatchewan. Ms. Abbey has worked with people from many different cultural, social and ethnic backgrounds, especially in the last 10 years with First Nations and Inuit people. Ms. Abbey gained registration with the College of Midwives of Ontario through the Prior Learning Education and Experience Assessment. Formal training is BSc. Hons. Chemistry, Registered Nurse and Registered Midwife. Ms. Abbey is a clinical preceptor for midwifery, nursing and medical students. She is also the chief of the midwifery department at Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Center. She has been practicing midwifery in Thunder Bay since 2000.

Krista Lysenko

Krista Lysenko graduated from nursing in 2008 from York University. From there she focused her nursing career on getting experience that would be beneficial to work towards her dream of becoming a midwife. Over the next four years working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Vancouver and Anchorage, Alaska as well as Labour and Delivery in Yellowknife helped her gain the experience she needed to pursue a career in midwifery. Krista graduated with honors from the post- Baccalaureate Midwifery program at Ryerson University after doing placements in Toronto and British Columbia. Krista is thrilled to be at Maternity Care Midwives and part of the Thunder Bay Community.