Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson ( Jun 09/00) - Tonya Makletzoff was scheduled to board a plane for Yellowknife at 4 p.m. May 29, to have a midwife help her deliver her baby, due on June 14.

She never stepped foot on that flight because the contractions began sooner than expected -- at 3 a.m. on May 29, to be exact.

She said she awoke to realize her water had broken. Growing anxious, she called her midwife in Yellowknife. After calming down, she contacted the Fort Simpson Health Centre and was admitted shortly thereafter. With a medevac flight expected to take two hours to arrive, and already being seven centimetres dilated, she was given the option of having the baby at the health centre.

"The doctor said he had delivered lots of babies so it was up to me," she said, adding that there was concern that the flight might have induced the labour further.

"I didn't want to be moving in the air, having contractions would have been more traumatic and painful.

"I'm actually glad that it happened here. Travelling is hard for a new baby," she said.

"It was nice because she was surrounded by her family ... we were just able to come home and relax with the baby."

After eight-and-a-half hours of labour, during which time father Mike Cazon and grandmother Mary Cazon offered their support, a healthy baby girl named Ni Ka was born.

Ni Ka, which is Dene for "little breeze," is little sister for Golia.

"Golia is just ecstatic," Makletzoff said.

The outpouring of support from the community and the medical staff has been overwhelming. Local residents have generously donated all kinds of baby clothes, and medical staff treated her like royalty, she said.

One nurse in particular has visited regularly to check up on her and the baby.

"I had a really great team ... I really feel grateful for their help," said Makletzoff. "It felt really special."

She said the birthing process was made much easier through knowledge she had gained by reading about midwifery and natural childbirth. There are many ways to deliver a baby without making it a surgical procedure and using pain relievers, she said.

"It's a sacred event in life ... You have to tune into the whole process instead of numbing yourself to it," she explained. "It's very empowering. It's you doing the work ... I think I did pretty good."