Cheryllee Bourgeois Explained

Cherylee Bourgeios
Occupation:	midwife
Years Active:	2007-present
Alma Mater:	Ryerson University

Cheryllee Bourgeois, R.M., is a Métis midwife and educator.

Early life

Bourgeois was raised in British Columbia but her traditional territory is in the Red River colony in southern Manitoba and the Missouri River Basin in North Dakota.^{[1] [2]}

Education and practice

Bourgeios graduated from Ryerson University's Midwifery program in 2007. She practiced for over 11 years before returning to teach as a sessional instructor in the midwifery program at Ryerson University from 2008. In 2019 she joined the program as a faculty member. In 2002, she co-founded, along with Sara Wolfe and Ellen Blais, Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto.^[3] She is currently the President of the Toronto Birth Centre.^[4] She is an advocate for culturally safe care in pregnancy for Indigenous women.

Advocacy

Bourgeois has critiqued the Canadian federal government evacuation policy^{[5] [6]} which requires pregnant Indigenous women from some communities to travel to cities in order to deliver their babies.^[7] She has also highlighted the harm done by practitioners who appropriate best practices from Indigenous midwifery without proper attribution.

Select bibliography

• Daoud, N., Kristen O’Brien, Patricia O’Campo, Harney, S., Harney, E., Bebee, K., Bourgeios, Cheryllee, Smylie, J. (2019). "Postpartum depression prevalence and risk factors among indigenous, non-indigenous and immigrant women in Canada." Canadian Journal of Public Health, 110(4), 440–452.^[8]
• Dion Fletcher, Claire and Cheryllee Bourgeios, "Refusing Delinquency, Reclaiming Power: Indigenous Women and Childbirth." Natal Signs: cultural representations of pregnancy, birth and parenting. ed. Nadya Burton. Bradford, Ontario: Demeter Press, 2015.^[9]
• Monchalin, R., Smylie, J., Bourgeois, C., & Firestone, M. (2019). “I would prefer to have my health care provided over a cup of tea any day”: recommendations by urban Métis women to improve access to health and social services in Toronto for the Métis community. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 15:3, 217-225.^[10]
• Kitching, G.T., Firestone, M., Schei, B. et al. (2019). "Unmet health needs and discrimination by healthcare providers among an Indigenous population in Toronto, Canada," Canadian Journal of Public Health, 111, 40–49.^[11]
• Rotondi MA, O’Campo P, O’Brien K, et al., (2017) "Our Health Counts Toronto: using respondent-driven sampling to unmask census undercounts of an urban indigenous population in Toronto, Canada," BMJ Open, 7:12, e018936.^[12]
• Bourgeois, Cheryllee, Copee, Annabel and Hilary Edelstein, Paramedic PESP emergency skills : managing birth out-of-hospital, Toronto: Ontario Association of Midwives, 2017.^[13]

External links

• Deposition by Cheryllee Bourgeois at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Notes and References

1. Web site: Cheryllee Bourgeois . Midwifery Education Program . Ryerson University . en. 2020-03-11.
2. Web site: Keynote: Cheryllee Bourgeois. 2019-04-12. Virtual International Day of the Midwife. en-US. 2020-03-11.
3. News: Matteis. Stephanie. Indigenous health-care providers say cultural safety training would help First Nations patients. 2017-06-21. CBC News Toronto. 2020-03-11.
4. Web site: Staff and Governance Toronto Birth Centre. en-US. 2020-03-11.
5. Darling . Elizabeth K. . Lawford . Karen Marie Olsen . Wilson . Kathi . Kryzanauskas . Michelle . Bourgeault . Ivy Lynn . March–April 2019 . Distance from Home Birth to Emergency Obstetric Services and Neonatal Outcomes: A Cohort Study . Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health . en . 64 . 2 . 170–178 . 10.1111/jmwh.12896. 30325580 . 53502070 .
6. Lawford . Karen M. . Giles . Audrey R. . Bourgeault . Ivy L. . December 2018 . Canada's evacuation policy for pregnant First Nations women: Resignation, resilience, and resistance . Women and Birth . en . 31 . 6 . 479–488 . 10.1016/j.wombi.2018.01.009. 29439924 . 25080071 .
7. News: Indigenous midwives exchange knowledge: PWRDF program shares best practices from Canada, Mexico and Peru . Gardner . Matt . 2019-11-06 . Anglican Journal . en-US . 2020-03-11.
8. Daoud. Nihaya. O’Brien. Kristen. O’Campo. Patricia. Harney. Sarah. Harney. Evelyn. Bebee. Kerry. Bourgeois. Cheryllee. Smylie. Janet. August 2019. Postpartum depression prevalence and risk factors among Indigenous, non-Indigenous and immigrant women in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health. en. 110. 4. 440–452. 10.17269/s41997-019-00182-8. 0008-4263. 6964473. 30767191.
9. Book: Burton, Nadya . Natal signs: cultural representations of pregnancy, birth and parenting . 2015 . Demeter Press . 978-1-926452-32-6 . Brantford, Ontario . 153–171 . 920015824.
10. Monchalin . Renée . Smylie . Janet . Bourgeois . Cheryllee . Firestone . Michelle . 2019-08-04 . "I would prefer to have my health care provided over a cup of tea any day": recommendations by urban Métis women to improve access to health and social services in Toronto for the Métis community . AlterNative . en-US . 15 . 3 . 217–225 . 10.1177/1177180119866515. free .
11. Kitching . George Tjensvoll . Firestone . Michelle . Schei . Berit . Wolfe . Sara . Bourgeois . Cheryllee . O’Campo . Patricia . Rotondi . Michael . Nisenbaum . Rosane . Maddox . Raglan . Smylie . Janet . 2020-02-01 . Unmet health needs and discrimination by healthcare providers among an Indigenous population in Toronto, Canada . Canadian Journal of Public Health . en . 111 . 1 . 40–49 . 10.17269/s41997-019-00242-z. 31435849 . 7046890 . free .
12. Rotondi . Michael A . O’Campo . Patricia . O'Brien . Kristen . Firestone . Michelle . Wolfe . Sara H . Bourgeois . Cheryllee . Smylie . Janet K . December 2017 . Our Health Counts Toronto: using respondent-driven sampling to unmask census undercounts of an urban indigenous population in Toronto, Canada . BMJ Open . en . 7 . 12 . e018936 . 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018936 . free . 2044-6055 . 5770955 . 29282272.
13. Book: Bourgeois . Cheryllee . Paramedic PESP emergency skills: managing birth out-of-hospital . Cope . Annabel . Edelstein . Hilary . 2017 . Association of Ontario Midwives . 978-0-9686170-4-5 . Toronto . English . 1036078799.