cindy storie-soth, rm
Cindy Storie-Soth’s journey into midwifery began with a deeply transformative experience during her first pregnancy, under the nurturing and compassionate care of midwives in Victoria, BC. Their unwavering support and encouragement empowered Cindy to make informed choices that resonated with her values and vision for childbirth. This profound experience sparked her passion for ensuring that all women have access to the same high-quality, respectful care. Driven by this mission, Cindy initially became a doula and childbirth educator, roles that allowed her to provide guidance and advocacy for expectant families. As her children grew older, she embraced the next chapter of her calling, enrolling in the UBC midwifery program to deepen her impact.
Since 2017, Cindy has dedicated herself to full-time midwifery practice in Nanaimo, bringing her warmth, expertise, and commitment to families during one of the most significant times in their lives. Her work is grounded in a belief in the power of informed choice and personalized care, fostering trust and connection with every family she supports.
Outside of her profession, Cindy finds joy in reading, swimming, and travel but most of all, she treasures quality time with her two daughters, now young adults forging their own paths in the world. Their growth and accomplishments remain a source of immense pride in Cindy’s life.
Bailey PaTTON, rm
For as long as she can remember, Bailey has been passionate about supporting birthing people in some capacity. With a deep fascination for understanding the inner workings of life and matter, she pursued a science degree at the University of Calgary, focusing primarily on biology and chemistry. Toward the end of her studies, she discovered the world of midwifery and was fortunate to begin her training at Mount Royal University shortly after graduation.
To her, midwifery is more than just a profession—it has shaped her worldview and influenced the way she connects with others. Inclusion, bodily autonomy, evidence-based care, informed choice, and consent are central to her approach to midwifery. She also acknowledges the immense privilege of being invited into a birth space and feels profound gratitude for the opportunity to build collaborative and trusting relationships throughout each unique parenting journey.
Outside of her work in midwifery, she enjoys spending time with her partner and their dog, Charlie. Having recently relocated from Calgary to Nanaimo, they are excited to explore the beauty of the island through camping and a shared love for nature.
She is grateful for the opportunity to be part of the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care for those she serves, and she looks forward to connecting with and sharing many meaningful experiences with the birthing people and families of NRM.
Luca Surkan, 4th year midwifery student, Starting Sept 2025
Luca (pronounced “Lootsa”) is honoured to be part of your care during this meaningful and transformational time. As a student midwife, Luca deeply values the unique wisdom that each client and family 
brings to the clinical experience. She looks forward to building a relationship founded on trust, mutual respect, and open communication throughout your time together.
Originally from Vancouver Island, Luca grew up in a large family and was first introduced to birth through the home births of younger siblings under midwifery care. She holds a degree in Philosophy from the University of Victoria and, prior to entering the UBC Midwifery program, worked as a birth doula and in student support administration within the post-secondary education sector. The support Luca received from midwives during the birth of her own child further inspired her commitment to this profession.
During her midwifery training, Luca has had the privilege of working with clients across the perinatal spectrum in Nanaimo, BC, gaining experience in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care. She is passionate about midwifery because of its potential to provide continuous, holistic, client-centered, culturally safe, and evidence-informed care that positively impacts individuals and families.
Outside of clinical work, Luca enjoys trail running with her partner, engaging in midwifery-specific research, cooking for friends, and exploring the outdoors with her son.
rhonda stephens, rm ~ Semi-Retired as of June 30th, 2025. Will be covering holidays for bailey and Cindy.
Rhonda Stephens (she/her) came to Midwifery following an AH-HA! moment when her husband told her about a CBC interview with a midwife that he had heard. She had never heard of midwifery as a profession until then but had always had an interest in pregnancy, birth and babies. This started at age 7 when her little brother was born, and was reinforced when she had her own daughter many years later. She soon made the shift from a dull career in banking to working as a Pregnancy Outreach Worker and a Doula, before being accepted into UBC’s Midwifery program.
Rhonda offers a warm and caring attitude, with a side of humour. She gives evidence-based, non-judgmental information about the available options and believes that birthing people are the best ones to decide what works for them: home or hospital, unmedicated or epidural, breast or bottle, and everything in between. Rhonda has caught babies in various settings: big-city hospitals in Vancouver, small-town hospitals in Campbell River and Comox, a birth centre in El Paso Texas, and low-resource cities in Uganda, Africa.
Rhonda has been serving the families of Nanaimo since 2011. In her spare time, she loves traveling, getting her dogs dirty on epic walks, and hanging out with her family.
Lindsay Brown, Medical Office Administrator
Lindsay, born and raised on Vancouver Island, considers herself very fortunate to call the Island home. Under the care of midwives she brought 2 beautiful children into the world and spent the first 8 years of their lives caring for them full-time as a stay at home mom. Lindsay then returned to school to pursue healthcare education. Studying to become a medical office assistant she was recognized for her achievements in Medical Transcription and Medical Office Administration. Lindsay loves that her job is about supporting healthcare workers and in her role as an office administrator for Nanaimo Registered Midwives, interacting with midwives and newborns is the favorite aspect of her job. Outside of work, Lindsay enjoys spending quality time with her family exploring nature trails and beaches with their dog. They bond over movies, cooking, and storytelling, and in warmer months, they indulge in ocean activities like swimming, snorkeling, and kayaking, where Lindsay finds serenity.
