Every birth is a ceremony.
Becoming a parent is a rites of passage.
Every parent deserves a Family Steward.
Family Stewards - Birthwork that builds whole and loving families for generations
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✨ The Movement
Family Stewards is more than a service—it’s a movement to return birth to the village.
We reimagine birthwork as a communal act of love, accountability, and transformation, where care is shared and no parent is left behind. -
🌿 The Vision
At COYA, we honour birth as ceremony and parenting as a rites of passage.
Every family deserves a Steward—someone who sees beyond the moment to the legacy being born. We hold that vision with you, and for you. -
🔥 The Difference
We are not just doulas.
We are stewards of ceremony, safety, and connection—
inviting all parents into the sacred circle of care.Where others support only the birther, we support the family system.
Where others see a client, we see an ancestor in the making.
Where others provide a service, we prepare a legacy.
💫 "If we engage all parents — not just birthing people — at the moment of birth,
we can interrupt intergenerational trauma and birth stronger loving families."
— Jacylin Poirier, Founder, COYA Family Stewards
🌱 Our Theory of Change
When we include both birthing and non-birthing parents in culturally grounded care during the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum period...
🔸 We restore Indigenous rites of passage and shared family responsibilities
🔸 We reduce domestic violence and long-term relational breakdown
🔸 We increase bonding, confidence, and community safety
By training Family Stewards to accompany, advocate for, and support all parents through this transition, we prevent isolation, promote equity, and birth a future where every child is welcomed into a village.
🌈 Our Expected Outcomes
With each family we serve, we aim to:
Reduce cesarean rates and medical trauma
47% of birth in BC involved a cesarean section. (BC Perinatal Services, 2019)
Increase parental confidence and mental wellness
42.8% of parents report low self-efficacy (UBC Toddler Development Instrument, 2021)
Reduce postpartum depression
23% of birthing individuals in BC report postpartum depression or anxiety (BC Women’s Health Foundation, 2023)
Reduce relationship breakdown
20% of children under age 7 experience parental separation (Statistics Canada, 2019)
Increased participation in the workforce
28% of mothers with children under 6 are not in the labour fource (Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey, 2021-2022)
Revitalize Indigenous knowledge systems around family formation
Indigenous women are 2x more likely to experience postpartum depression compared to Non-Indigenous peers (Daoud et. al, 2019)
Strengthen bonds between birth parents, partners, and chosen family
90% of mothers report feeling solely responsible for family choices (Frontiers in Psychology, 2023)
Encourage long-term co-parenting success through clarity of roles, rights, and responsibilities.
1/3 of non-custodial fathers lose touch with their children before the age of 5 (Justice Canada, 2021)
Treat every birth as a ceremony, and every person becoming a parent as a rites of passage.
19.4% of birthing individuals experience birth as trauma and leading to symptoms of PTSD (Dekel et al, Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 2022)
“Too many families walk into birth alone. We’re rebuilding the village around them—one ceremony at a time.”
Most doula care focuses solely on the birthing person.
Most parenting programs begin after the baby arrives.
Family Stewards begin at the root—the moment of conception, preparation, and birth—when families are formed and futures are shaped.
We steward the whole family, not just the birth.
We hold both parents in the sacred circle of care—from pregnancy through postpartum—so they can thrive together, not just survive apart.We make invisible labour visible.
From emotional loads to generational trauma, we name, hold, and heal what families often carry alone.We revive rites of passage.
Through Indigenous ceremony and community-centered support, we mark the transformation into parenthood with the reverence it deserves.We prepare ancestors, not just parents.
Every act of care echoes for generations. We help families act with legacy in mind—from the very first moment.We solve for disconnection.
By centralizing birthworkers and sharing overhead, we create sustainable, collaborative ecosystems—not isolated, overworked practitioners.
Watch our Video
👉 See how Family Stewards are transforming the experience of birth and parenting in British Columbia.
Jace Poirier shares the multigenerational impact potential of Family Stewards who guide ALL parents through the sacred rite of passage of becoming a parent.
Our Teachings
These offerings are available online or in-person:
Birthing in Ceremony: Reclaiming cultural practices in birth
Nesting for Baby: A minimalist, needs-based baby prep
Birthing Families: Naming roles, rights & responsibilities
Becoming Parents: A 10-step rites of passage to parent in unity
Circles of Parents: Ongoing community-led parenting support
Ask Auntie Jace (1:1 Sessions): Personalized advice for new parents
💡 All services include ceremonial and cultural supports.
* Indigenous families may be eligible for full funding through the Doulas for Aboriginal Families Grant Program.
What families are saying:
Kindred Supporters:
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Dr. Erica Woodin
Director, University of Victoria Healthy Relationships Lab (Gottman Institute)
We recognize the importance of holistic and culturally-rooted birthwork in strengthening family bonds and mitigating the stressors that can arise during the transition to parenthood.
As research has shown, the postpartum period presents significant challenges for couples, and the presence of structured support systems can make a crucial difference in the well-being of both birthers and their partners.
We believe that this partnership has the potential to create lasting change by demonstrating the critical role of partner inclusion in birth and postpartum care. We commend your dedication to this work and look forward to contributing to the shared goal of fostering thriving families.
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Robyn Ward
Vice President, International Coaching Federation
I believe that many professionals—coaches, counsellors, and those already supporting families in crisis would greatly benefit from access to the Family Stewardship prevention method.
The ability to proactively guide families through ceremonies, transitions, and healing processes is a critical missing component in traditional support structures. As an Executive Coach, CEO of Rewarding Relationships, and a Cultivating Safe Spaces Trainer, I am honoured to extend my full support for the Family Steward model.
ways you can help us today
🏢 Employers: Invest in Shared Prosperity
Add Family Stewards to your parental leave package.
For a $2,500 investment per family, you help ensure both parents receive holistic care during their transition into parenthood—reducing burnout, strengthening families, and cultivating long-term community well-being.
Be the employer that’s great for families!
→ Join us in building gender equity from the moment of birth.
🏥 Everyone: Help Us Birth the Centre
Support the creation of a dedicated birth centre—a place where birthworkers can gather, collaborate, and be sustainably and gainfully employed.
Right now, many work in isolation, are underpaid and overextended. Your donation helps us centralize care, share overhead costs, and create meaningful, gainful employment for those holding birth as ceremony.
→ Give today to transform disconnection into a circle of care.
Every birth is a ceremony.
Becoming a parent is a rites of passage.
Every parent deserves a
Family Steward.
Become a Family Steward
Are you being called to support families during one of life’s most transformative moments? Whether you're a parent, caregiver, healer, or helper...
You can become a Family Steward.
We'll teach you:
The COYA philosophy
Ceremonial birthwork and rites of passages
Anti-violence and family-building strategies
How to support all genders in parenting transitions