Q.M. Sami (B.Ed., PNSW, DSW) is a childbirth educator, content creator, and the founder of Humsa Prenatals. She comes with previous experience of having worked for more than 10 years in the disability field, supporting, and giving care to people with disabilities. A mother of two, Q.M. Sami completed the perinatal support worker certificate in 2016. Q.M. Sami trained as a childbirth educator for two years under D. Fazio and V. Collins, Perinatal instructors from the PNSW program in Toronto at ITM and then at Anderson College.
During her apprenticeship in the PNSW program, she spent 200 hours of postpartum support – working directly with mothers supporting their babies postpartum. She offered 200 hours of labor support –working with pregnant or birthing mothers – offering regular prenatal visits, support during labor, and taking care of the mother and baby. She also offered 50 hours of breastfeeding support – working directly in a breastfeeding support capacity. She supported mothers who had C-section helping them in the recovery process.
She completed her hours of observation, working side by side with professionals such as: Obstetrician Dr. Salikah Iqbal OB/GYN, at the Scarborough General Hospital, supporting mothers during their labor and deliveries; Community nurse Leah Marquez at the “Healthy Women Healthy Babies” at 4 Villages Community Health Center, prenatal classes, etc.; E. Pallota, Prenatal Educator, Scarborough Hospitals.
Q.M.Sami participated in the La Leche League Canada, communication with Breastfeeding Mothers workshop certificate program, Pregnancy and infant loss summit at the Mount Sinai Hospital; completed the “Supporting parents feeding preemies” certificate presented by Catherine Shaker MS/CCC-SLP, BCS-S; completed Breastfeeding course offered by Toronto Public Library.
As a perinatal support person, Q.M.Sami supported a mother, with mild cerebral palsy, during pregnancy and looked after the baby postpartum while attending to the mother and her one-year-old firstborn. Q.M. Sami has brought her expertise from the disability field, and the adult education field into the perinatal and childbirth field.
Having worked with laboring mothers, obstetricians, and prenatal educators, she gained a deep understanding of the struggles of pregnant women, especially in understanding and retaining information and overcoming fears.
She combined her experience as a mother and a perinatal adult educator to build and launch an online, Self-paced, All-in-one Pregnancy, Labor, Delivery, Newborn care, and Breastfeeding course. This same course is now being offered as an affordable Webinars with 12 months access
Currently, Q.M.Sami is working as an instructor at Fanshawe Toronto @ILAC College, while studying her Masters in Adult Education from Memorial University. She is the author of Womb In Bloom: Your Week By Week Pregnancy Companion and The Ultimate Pregnancy Planner and 9 Months Journal
She is a mother, an educator, an author of a children’s book Peli and Brr: A Story of Two Freinds and a volunteer at the Abrahamic Reunion – an organization that works towards bringing peace in the holy land by opening hearts to the love and wisdom of all spiritual traditions. In her free time, she loves exploring the outdoors and dabbling in Sufi music.