Alixandra Bacon RM MA (she/her)
Alixandra is a first generation Canadian, her mother was a settler of Irish decent. She graduated from UBC Midwifery in 2012 and has been serving families in her hometown of Richmond (& South Delta) ever since. She is Past President of the Canadian Association of Midwives and Midwives Association of BC and Adjunct Professor at UBC Midwifery. Alixandra has a special interest in ADHD/AuDHD/ASD and Pregnancy...want to learn more? Check out www.adhdpregnancy.ca. Outside of work Alixandra is mother to a lively 7 year old and sings soprano harmony and plays percussion in the Hillbettys.
Olsy Sorokina SMW 2
Olsy will be joining me for their first clinical placements Oct & Nov, 2026. I hope you will welcome Olsy into your home to learn the art of midwifery.
I'm a Russian-born radio producer who plunged into birth work in 2022 as a doula, and loved it so much that midwifery seemed like the next logical step. After 10 years of working in the media industry, I wanted to dedicate my time to helping people in a more direct way; supporting people through the major transitions of childbirth and parenthood turned out to be just that. Many of the families I have supported over these years were newcomers, and I tapped into my own experiences as an immigrant and a translator to support their transition to life in Canada.
My other passion is science communication: my favorite stories to produce for CBC Radio were the ones focused on health, cognition and biological sciences. In my doula work, this interest helped me find accessible ways to explain fetal and birth physiology to my clients. As a midwifery student, I happily nerded out making up anatomy & physiology case studies and writing up informed choice discussion scripts.
I'm a fervent believer in midwifery tenets of continuous, client-centered care, because I've seen the wonderful results of having both – and the devastating consequences of lacking both - firsthand. After working alongside talented midwives as a doula, I'm very excited to get more involved as a care provider! I'm confident in my birth support skills like providing information or alleviating anxiety, but anything clinical like vaginal exams or perineal repair is foreign territory for now, one that I'm eager to explore. I have learned some of my now-strongest skills by being thrown in the deep end and finding my way through, so I'm looking forward to the challenge.
In my free time, I love to get lost in a good book, sweat the day out at a dance class, or spend time by the ocean.
Why Strawberry Midwifery?
In many cultures across the world, strawberries are associated with motherhood, fertility, and abundance. Strawberries are among the first plant to produce fruit after winter in the areas where they are native, signifying rebirth and a new start. The “seeds" you see on the outside of a strawberry are actually the plant's ovaries! Each “seed" is technically a separate fruit that has a seed inside of it. Strawberries are also recognized for their rich vitamin c and folic acid levels, which are great for promoting a healthy pregnancy.
I was blessed to spend my early childhood in Steveston. Across the street from my house were strawberry fields which had been slated for development. On summer days I remember begging my mum to play the Beatles Strawberry Fields song and then toddling across the way to gorge myself on the strawberries in the abandoned field. At the time I fancied I would become a strawberry farmer myself!
Berry picking has a long history here. For thousands of years, the Musqueam peoples canoed to what is now called Lulu Island to set up temporary summer housing for fishing and foraging for berries and plants. For the Musqueam people, June is known as the time of the salmonberries, təәm lil’əә.
A historical researcher, Dellis Cleland, spoke to more than a hundred people in 1972 to ask them about their memories of berry picking in Richmond. The report “Berrying in Richmond – Pleasure or Profit” can be found in the City of Richmond’s Archives. Strawberries were grown in Richmond’s “rich clay soil” starting from the early 1900s and were hauled to markets in Vancouver over the two connecting bridges in wagons, cars and even in milk vans run by Van Dusen and Hawke, Cleland writes. Cleland writes that strawberry festivals were the “highlight of early summer” and were “interwoven throughout the social life of the area.”Strawberry festivals were held by different organizations – at churches and at the Orange Hall in Steveston.While the annual Orange Hall Strawberry Festival “is hosted by men of the lodges,” Cleland notes “Many are the crates hulled by the women of Richmond in the name of neighborliness and hospitality.”
Rantanen, M. (Aug 5/22). Berries have long history in Richmond, including inspiring wineries. Richmond News. https://www.richmond-news.com/local-news/berries-have-long-history-in-richmond-including-inspiring-wineries-5665211