Heather Martin currently works out of our Stony Plain office and our South Edmonton office.

Heather hails from Regina, Saskatchewan where her passion for maternity care was ignited after visiting a friend with her new baby.  She began her nursing education in 1999, qualifying for the Accelerated Nursing Education Program of Saskatchewan. She graduated in 2002 and began working in a labour and delivery unit.  She also spent one year working full time in a tertiary level NICU.

It was Heather’s zest for learning, and a sense that she needed a change, that brought her to Edmonton to pursue her Masters in Nursing at the University of Alberta. Heather had developed a passion for global maternal health and had the unique opportunity to conduct her thesis research in Ghana, Africa, studying community support for childbearing women. Through her studies, Heather learned more about midwifery and a new fire was lit.

In 2011, Heather was accepted to Laurentian University’s Midwifery Education Program. She benefited enormously from the wonderful women in South Western Ontario who allowed her to be involved in their care and, of course, from the midwives whose experience and confidence in birth allowed her to learn, grow, and truly become a midwife.

Heather completed her Bachelor of Health Sciences Degree in Midwifery, Cum Laude, in the spring of 2013 and returned to Edmonton to begin her new career at JoySring Midwifery. Working alongside childbearing women and their families through JoySpring was an absolute pleasure.  

After the passing of Noreen Walker in the spring of 2017, Heather was compelled to help Passages Midwifery continue to provide care to the thousands of families who Noreen had dedicated her life to. It is an honour for Heather to be walking in the footsteps laid by such an inspiring and strong woman.  

When not busy catching babies, Heather has contributed to provincial midwifery as Vice President of the Alberta Association of Midwives, midwife-member of the MoreOB Core Team at Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, and data collection for a study led by Dr. Beverly O’Brien on water immersion in labour and birth. Once in a while spare time and adventure find a happy mix, providing Heather with important opportunities to present at such events as the International Confederation of Midwives Conference in Prague, Czechoslovakia (June 2014), the CAPWHN Conference in Regina (2014), and the POGO Conference in Regina (2016). Heather participates as a member of the Provincial Midwifery Executive Committee for Alberta Health Services and in September 2016, she assumed the role of Clinical Midwifery Director for the Edmonton, Central, and North Zone.

Heather enjoys traveling, her two rambunctious kitties, relaxing with family and friends, preparing great meals, and crocheting beautiful newborn hats for the sweet little babies she helps to welcome into the world.

Melissa works out of both our Stony Plain and our South Edmonton office.

Melissa was born and raised in Amiskwaciwâskahikan ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ (translation: beaver mountain house; the Cree term for Edmonton). She began her journey into healthcare by initially attending Grant Macewan University, then transferring to Lakehead’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (compressed program) in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It was there, among the Anishnawbe and the gorgeous landscape, that she found a renewed sense of cultural identity and pride.

In 2012, she began working as a labour and delivery nurse at the Lois Hole Hospital for Women. While the work itself was rewarding, challenging, and beautiful, Melissa felt restricted and stagnate in her role as an RN. In 2015, she began studying for a Master’s degree in Public Health, specializing in global health, at the University of Alberta. It was during that time she was able to marry her passions for birth work and the decolonization movement, which led her to form a non-profit research business/working group for survivors of colonial violence, and put her on the path to midwifery.

Her interest in midwifery was always there, but the courage to pursue it as a career did not come until a few pivotal moments as both a nurse and graduate student, when she experienced racism while staring down the evidence of historical injustice. After a short-lived career in research at the U of A, Melissa took a chance and applied to midwifery school. She was accepted into Laurentian University’s accelerated Bachelor of Health Sciences in Midwifery! Three cities, two cross-country moves, and one pandemic later, she accepted a position with Passages Midwifery, and is honoured to be serving the community in her role as New Registrant Midwife.

In her off-call time, Melissa is mother to Willow and Iris, wife to Cory, an amateur seamstress, film nut, fangirl, bookworm, lover of mountains and music festivals.

My road to midwifery is long and winding. Under the guidance and support of my mother Noreen, I navigated my way through midwifery school. It was our dream that one day, we would practice together; my heart still aches when I think of the future that might have been.

With the loss of my mother, it fell to me to ensure that her practice continued and flourished even in her absence. I have attended over 100 births, many with Noreen, and many with amazing midwives from across Canada and the United States. Until I am registered, I cannot practice midwifery in Alberta; however, I am enjoying my role as practice owner and administrator for this fabulous team of inspiring midwives, and love supporting our clients on their birth journeys.

I have two degrees, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Midwifery, and a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in East Asian Studies, and I am currently enrolled in a Master’s of Science in Midwifery program, with a research focus on water birth in Alberta. 

I have traveled to dozens of countries over the years, and have lived and worked in several. I speak Mandarin Chinese and enjoy any opportunity to practice my language skills around town.

I am a proud, single mother to two amazing kids. Our family enjoys board games, mountain trips and river excursions, world music and spicy food.