Sewers getting busy for babies
Kitikmeot women make items for newborns thanks to volunteer teacher
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, May 30, 2016
KITIKMEOT
At any given time, there might be two or three or as many as 10 to 12 expectant mothers at the Larga Kitikmeot boarding home in Yellowknife.
Mother-to-be Riya Etoktok of Kugluktuk uses sewing material and a sewing machine to make a baby blanket at the Larga Kitikmeot boarding home in Yellowknife April 20. - Navalik Tologanak/NNSL photo |
Babies being rather unpredictable, an expectant mother might arrive and have her baby on the same day. But that's not generally the case.
"Some could be here up to four weeks. It's up to the baby, really," said Casey Adlem, general manager of the Larga Kitikmeot.
"So some could be here for a long time."
Not all mothers-to-be have their babies in Yellowknife. With midwives at the Kitikmeot Regional Health Centre in Cambridge Bay, that birthing option is open to all pregnant women in the Kitikmeot unless they are assessed as high risk in which case they must go to Yellowknife or even Edmonton.
But most women from Kitikmeot communities deliver in Yellowknife, according to the Nunavut Department of Health. The number of births in Cambridge Bay is under 20 per year.
The days of waiting can be lonely.
"I think it's difficult. Some may have other children at home. And being away from their loved ones, the support people in their life ... I believe it can be pretty lonely," said Adlem.
Enter Helen Larocque. A couple of months ago Larocque approached Larga Kitikmeot with an offer to teach sewing one afternoon a week.
"She approached me. From what she said, she worked at one of the mines. To pass time while she was there she was teaching people how to do sewing. She really enjoyed it in the evenings. She was not working anymore and she just wanted to have a connection to people and she knows we don't have as many resources as we'd always like. So she wanted to volunteer her time to do that."
Adlem says that afternoon of sewing is important to the women.
"They look forward to it," she said. "It gives them something to do during the time they're waiting."
Adlem adds there isn't very much for the waiting women to do. They attend a pre-natal class once a week and visit their doctor for a weekly check-up. Larga also has free passes to the swimming pool, which is nearby.
"The only thing they really have right now is that sewing class once a week," said Adlem. "Helen teaches them to do lots of different things. She does blankets, reusable diapers, and little booties and hats - all those sorts of things."
Adlem said the women miss Larocque at the moment - she's away with an injured back.
"They miss having her here. We still have all the sewing stuff available for them. But it's just better to have someone for them to sit down and teach them. We're looking forward to having her come back."
