hello, I'm

Kayla Blinkhorn BScN, RM

{she/her}

I joined the wonderful team here at Prairie Midwives in October 2017, and am so happy life has lead me down this beautiful (and sometimes winding) path. How lucky am I to be working with such strong and caring people who have become my second family?! A little bit about me… I grew up in rural Saskatchewan and moved to Sylvan Lake with my family in 2002. I always knew I wanted a career in a field that involves working with people and learning about the human body but the midwifery dream didn’t come until I was a year or two into my nursing career. I graduated from Red Deer College with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2010 and from Toronto Metropolitan University with a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Midwifery in 2017. I am married to my wonderful husband Jamieson, who is a high school teacher. We have two feisty daughters, Rory and Marlow, and we love watching them grow. Activities I enjoy have changed over the years as I’ve become a parent. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, particularly outdoors but also time to myself- walks alone while listening to podcasts, reading, yoga and drinking lattes. My love for Harry Potter though remains.

Initially after nursing school, I began working in the emergency department but soon found out it was not for me. I felt I was missing the relationships with patients that often could not be built with the fast pace environment of the ER. I then began working in a local rural hospital where they provided labour and delivery care and soon fell in love. I took a position on the labour and delivery unit in Red Deer in April 2012. I have learned so much from the nurses, doctors and patients there and am forever grateful for this and the spark it gave me to pursue midwifery! Even though I enjoyed my job as a nurse, I felt my values of what the birth experience can be for the childbearing person and their family closely aligned to midwifery philosophy. I completed the post baccalaureate midwifery program at TMU in Toronto in July 2017. Living in Toronto was an adventure but it also made me realize that I am not a city girl! I learned from some excellent midwives whom also positively influenced my feminist beliefs. They not only taught me how to provide high quality midwifery care for clients at home, birth center and in the hospital but also the importance of midwifery to be involved in political and social justice aspects of maternal and newborn health. In June 2019, I became a council member for the College of Midwives of Alberta and I’m excited to be part of the process of creating and ensuring high quality midwifery care across Alberta. I also sit on the Continuing Competency committee at the CMA. I strongly believe in informed choice and being a ‘guide’ for my clients to allow for a positive and empowering birth experience. This is your body and your baby. Watching birthing people and their families transition from pregnancy to birth to becoming parents and new families is a privilege and an honour and a process that I am constantly in awe of. I feel truly lucky to be serving the families of central Alberta and I cannot wait to get to know you and be a part of your birth journey!