We are mothers, daughters, doulas and friends - we're here for you.
The Mothering Touch Centre was founded in the spring of 2003 by Eva Bild and Florance Simpson with the goal of providing a variety of classes and support services to expectant and new families. With this goal in mind, we gathered childbirth educators, doulas, breastfeeding educators and perinatal yoga and fitness instructors. Several expansions later, we're now able to offer our clients fitness and yoga, childbirth preparation and parenting classes, breastfeeding support, a bright new retail space and much more - we look forward to meeting you soon!
Click here to learn about our logo!
Please click on a name below, or just scroll down to learn more about our team...
Eva Bild - Founder, Director & Co-Owner of The Mothering Touch Centre; Childbirth Educator, Certified Doula and Breastfeeding Educator
erin kicks - Our Manager & Buyer; Birth & Postpartum Doula and Breastfeeding Educator
Terry Lyon - Our Registrar; Breastfeeding Counselor and DONA-Trained Postpartum Doula
Part-Time & Program Staff - We've put together an amazing team of parenting, yoga and health professionals to help us offer you a wide range of services!
Eva Bild, MA, CD(DONA)
Eva is the Director and Co-Owner of the Mothering Touch Centre. She coordinates the childbirth, activity, yoga and fitness classes. She teaches some of our Childbirth Preparation Classes and Doula Training Workshops and facilitates the Drop-in Parent and Baby Groups.
Eva has been working with childbearing families since 1991. She started her training as a Childbirth Educator with the National Childbirth Trust in Scotland and finished her training in the Childbirth Education Certificate Program at the Vancouver Community College. In 2007, Eva became a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator.
After completing her training as a childbirth educator in 1994, Eva started practicing as a doula, becoming certified by DONA International in 1997. From 1999-2001 Eva was Associate Editor of the International Doula, DONA's magazine. From 2004-06 she was the DONA Provincial Representative for British Columbia. Eva is a Birth Doula Trainer and offers DONA-Approved Birth Doula Training Workshops.
Eva parle couramment le français et propose ses services d'accompagnante à la naissance à la communauté francophone de Victoria.
From 1994 to 2005 Eva headed the Perinatal Program at the YM-YWCA of Greater Victoria. She taught Early Pregnancy, Childbirth Preparation and Post-Partum Classes.
Eva completed the Douglas College Breastfeeding Counsellor Certificate Program in 1996 and is a member and past co-chair of Breastfeeding Matters - South Vancouver Island, a breastfeeding advocacy group.
Eva is married to Randy Enkin, a geophysicist. Eva and Randy have three wonderful children - Daniel, Simon and Hannah - co-owners of The Mothering Touch Centre.
Please click here if you'd like to email Eva!
erin kicks
erin has been working at the Mothering Touch Centre since 2004. She is our Manager and Buyer, sourcing and ordering all the cool stuff we have in our shop.
erin is a Mother, a Birth and Postpartum Doula and Breastfeeding Educator. She is currently working towards certification as a Happiest Baby on the Block Instructor. erin has been a doula for 6 yrs and is an aspiring midwife. This is exactly where she wants to be and is so very thankful to all of the families that have allowed her to learn and explore the world of childbirth in a supportive, non-judgemental role.
erin is the wife of her beautiful partner Leeanne and the moma of their gorgeous son Bade. Without their support, this journey would not be possible.
Please click here if you'd like to email erin!
Terry Lyon
Terry has been working at the Mothering Touch Centre since 2005. She is our Registrar, taking care of registering people for all our different courses and a whizz at fitting nursing bras!
After her own challenges with breastfeeding her first son, Terry started working with breastfeeding families when she trained as a volunteer Breastfeeding Counselor with Nursing Mothers’ Council in California in 2002. Since then, she has trained as a Lactation Educator through Evergreen Medical Centre and worked at El Camino Hospital Perinatal Centre in Mountain View California. Terry is also a DONA-Trained Postpartum Doula.
Terry is a board member of Breastfeeding Matters - South Vancouver Island and has been one of the organizers of the Victoria Site of the Quintessence Breastfeeding Challenge. Terry is the fortunate mother of two beautiful and energetic boys.
Please click here if you'd like to email Terry!
Carolyn Schneyer
Having grown to adore the Mothering Touch Centre during her own pregnancy, Carolyn is now proud to be a part-time employee. A newly-minted doula (2007) and mother (2008), she is acutely attuned to the needs of the Mothering Touch clientele.
Carolyn is also a Masters student in Mechanical Engineering with the University of Victoria’s Institute for Integrated Energy Systems (IESVic). Her studies focus on sustainable energy systems and specifically on energy efficiency in domestic water heating. When she is not in the store, working on her thesis, or running after her toddler, Carolyn likes to relax by knitting, singing jazz, and occasionally sleeping.
Carolyn grew up in Michigan and earned her B.A. at Vassar College in New York in 1998. She has been a resident of Victoria since 2005.
Laura Warren
Laura has been teaching our Childbirth Preparation Series and Workshops since 2007. She is a DONA- Certified Birth doula (since 1998), a trained Breastfeeding Educator (since 2001) and a Childbirth Educator (since 2004).
Laura is the mother of three girls and is expecting her first grandchild in the spring.
"What I love the most about teaching is sitting surrounded by a group of expectant parents in discussion, and seeing at the end of the class how their faces change from fearful ones to strong, confident and powerful ones; ready to confront this new and challenging process called childbirth.
Jay Duncan
Jay has been teaching Childbirth Preparation and conducting hospital tours for the Mothering Touch Centre since 2007. After the very positive birth experiences she had with her children, Jessi in 1996 and Sam in 1998, she decided to make birth work her career. She had always been fascinated with the mystery and power of birth, so it was no mistake that she decided to work in this field.
Jay trained as a Prenatal Educator through Douglas College in 1998 and trained as a Postpartum Doula through the Seattle Midwifery School in 2002. She is also a DONA-trained Birth Doula and taught prenatal classes with the YMCA from 2004-2007.
Jay feels honored to be a part of the most amazing and intimate part of a woman's life: the birth of her first child and the expansion of a new family. She is constantly learning, developing and growing as a teacher and birth doula and is excited to work in such a nurturing and dynamic work environment as the Mothering Touch.
Do Stier
Do lives in Vancouver, B.C. and has been working with childbearing families in a variety of contexts for the past 25 years. In addition to her private practice as a birth and postpartum doula, Do teaches childbirth classes at Douglas College, the Youth Pregnancy & Parenting Program (YPPP) at Evergreen Community Health Centre, and for the S.M.I.L.E. program (Supporting Mothers Integrating Love and Education) of St. Leonard’s Youth Services. Do also works as a doula mentor for the South Community Birth Program and is the coordinator of doula volunteers for YPPP. Her enthusiasm for the work of serving childbearing families infuses her teaching at every level. You will leave the course both equipped and encouraged!
Crystal Star
Crystal teaches our Prenatal Yoga and Mom & Baby Yoga classes. She is an experienced Yoga Teacher, a certified Pre-Natal Yoga instructor, a mother, certified counselor, and a practicing Registered Nurse. She has a passion for womens' wellness and family health and has been teaching yoga for almost 10 years in Victoria. In the last few years she has found her niche specializing in teaching Pre-Natal Yoga offering women a space to explore their own unique mind/body relationship during pregnancy, connecting with growing baby, and using the valuable benefits that yoga can provide to support the birth experience.
Crystal has had the wonderful experience of practicing and teaching yoga through both of her pregnancies. Her wisdom and real life experience, combined with a medical background make her classes informative, safe, fun, and accessible to all types of mothers in whatever number, or stage of pregnancy they are experiencing. Crystal's warmth and genuine presence make her classes a place to get away from stress and experience a supportive environment benefitting both Mom and Baby through this important time.
Elke Schlufter
Elke teaches our Prenatal Yoga Classes. She is a Certified Yoga Instructor and graduated from MokSana Yoga Center in Victoria in 2007. Her yoga journey began in 1984 when she took her first yoga classes. When she was pregnant in 1994, she discovered pregnancy yoga and since then has remained convinced that yoga is one of the best ways a woman can prepare her body, mind and spirit to meet the challenges of pregnancy and birth with strength, confidence and calm.
Over the years, Elke has been very fortunate to experience the teachings of many inspirational teachers from different traditions in Europe and Canada. She continues to learn from every teacher and every student she meets.
In her teaching, she approaches poses mindfully and gently, teaching alignment and working on opening energy channels in the body. In movement and stillness she encourages conscious breathing, body awareness and guidance by inner wisdom. Elke strongly believes that the practice of yoga can bring a greater sense of wholeness and balance to every aspect of our lives.
Ann-Kathrin Lehsen-Martins
Ann-Kathrin teaches our Mom & Toddler, Mom & Baby and Prenatal Yoga classes.
She is the mother of two beautiful boys and has developed a yoga practice along side them as well as with them. She has her MA in Fine and Applied Arts and a Degree in Movement and is a Certified Yoga Instructor.
Ann-Kathrin truly believes that yoga has a profound influence on her and her families health and well-being and she takes great joy in sharing her love of movement with others.
Layla Cochrane
Layla teaches our Sign and Sing with your Baby Drop-in Class.
She is the mother of two little girls and a Certified Independent Baby Signs Instructor. After discovering the wonderful benefits of signing with her own two children, Layla began offering workshops, play classes and signing resources to families and caregivers in Victoria. Three years later she is still extremely passionate about signing with young children.
Layla is also the part-time Program Assistant for Leadership Victoria, a community-based, voluntary organization committed to developing, supporting, recognizing and honouring outstanding community leaders.
Hannah Bild-Enkin
Hannah is a Junior Staff Member. She has grown up around babies, birth and breastfeeding talk and is happy now to use some of that knowledge to help out in the family business. She works in the store on Saturdays to help pay for figure skating lessons!
The Janitorial Staff:
Catherine Goede, Randy Enkin &
Simon Bild-Enkin
Catherine, Randy and Simon take care of our cleaning and maintenance. They make sure the floors are clean, the windows are sparkling, the light bulbs are changed and the recycling is taken out. They build our displays and fix the sound system. We couldn’t function without them.
