JESS BOURASSA (SHE/HER)
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Founding Member
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Birth Doula
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Community | Yellowknife
I’ve been a doula for 11 years and supported nearly 70 births. Yellowknife has been home for 9 years and my partner and I have 2 girls who were both born here in the North. I had 2 very different births which has helped me learn firsthand how vast birthing experiences can be.
I help birthing people have a positive, comfortable and confident experience whether they strive for an unmedicated or medicated birth. I support clients throughout their pregnancy in prenatal prep sessions, throughout labour and birth, postpartum care, a hospital & a home visit.
I prepare birth partners with confidence, calm and tools to support their labouring partner. I use hands-on techniques for providing comfort in labour, and teach these to birth partners as well. I suggest positions that will physiologically help to make the birthing process easier, along with optional labour and birth photography.
I have worked with many people from diverse backgrounds and communities, and my professional experience with clients includes: high risk, virtual doula support, clients over 40, twins delivered unmedicated, inductions, IVF, teens, VBACs, water-immersion tubs, preterm birth, home birth, cesareans, medivacs, bed rest, anxiety, postpartum mood disorders, previous birth trauma, returning clients, and clients from Northern communities giving birth in Yellowknife. I was also a guest speaker for the Complementary Healing Modalities panel discussion at Aurora College for nursing students in 2018.
Taking on 1-2 clients per month, I strive to meet the particular needs of each individual birthing person, as every journey is unique. Protecting the sacred birthing space and wishes of the birthing person are important to me. I’m passionate about supporting chestfeeding/breastfeeding, tandem fed my children, and breastfed my youngest until she was nearly 4 yrs old.
I love running into my past clients, and seeing many of the kids growing up in town is really special! I feel so honoured to be a part of Northern Birthwork Collective and I look forward to helping build a more inclusive, supportive and safe future for all birthing people in the NWT.