the start.

When Michelle Tyliakos first dreamed up the My Powerful Birth education program, she wanted to build a class that was unlike what was available in  the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. While yes there was plenty of choice for classes, she was hearing from so many parents that they felt like they didn't actually get anything out of their classes. Families shared that it felt like they were just being TOLD what to do, and what they were told to do didn't feel right in their gut. Michelle knew that what was missing  was the essential elements of self discovery, informed choice and intuition. With that, she built the first version of My Powerful Birth Prenatal Classes.

And then...

In early 2020, as the world was shifting, pregnancy experiences were changing drastically and support was getting hard to access, it was time for Michelle to shift as well. She invited her long time doula friend, Samantha Garcia Gagnon, to join her in this mission.  Together, they revamped the MPB program, became more clear with the messaging and grew MPB to support so many families across Canada as they prepared to welcome their babies.  Together they were able to offer their participants  a more diverse knowledge base, different insights that stem from their vast doula experience and a whole lot of laughter. There was magic happening in those moments.

And a little bit more...

Now,  the My Powerful Birth team has grown a little bit more. While Michelle and Samantha love being able to offer in person classes in Pitt Meadows, and welcome families from across Ridge Meadows, Tricities, Langley and Surrey, they were hearing from families further in the Fraser Valley that they too wanted the same classes. They knew that having another duo teach makes a  big difference in the quality of the classes and there was really only one other couple that they knew who would perfectly fit the mold - Michelle (yes another one) Short and Stephanie Penner from Wildflower Birth Collective.

the teams

Michelle T. + Samantha

In Person Group Classes in Pitt Meadows
Online Group Classes
​Individually for Private Classes

Stephanie + Michelle S.

In Person Group Classes in Abbotsford
Online Group Classes
​Individually for Private Classes

Michelle Tyliakos

Michelle is passionate about  advocacy and medical rights to informed choice as she recently supported her husband through making powerful decisions while navigating life with a rare form of heart cancer. Now as a widow and mother to 4 children, she invites everyone who has lived through adversity to create a future that feels bright while managing meaningful and everyday life events.
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Her commitment to My Powerful Birth is to continually elevate perinatal education that positively impacts families, birth workers and medical professionals.

Samantha Garcia Gagnon

Coming up to close to a decade of birth work in a variety of different capacities, Samantha's life is all about community and connection. Having grown up in the Philippines, she was witness to the power of coming together to nourish and support the new family and saw first hand the meaning of "a village to raise a family". She brings in her unique perspective in the way she supports families through the My Powerful Birth program as well as to the many perinatal groups she runs out of the Bellies Community Space in Pitt Meadows. Samantha is also the owner of bellies inc., home of the patented Ab Wrap and Core Confidence program to help folks prepare, recover and restore after birth. Samantha is also a mother to her three children who each had their unique birth story.

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Stephanie Penner

Steph has been practicing as a birth and postpartum doula for over 8 years and is currently studying to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Her and her husband live and work on their egg farm in the Fraser Valley with their two kids. She brings her own personal experience with pregnancy, birth, loss and parenting, as well as education from her multitude of trainings and wisdom gathered from working with birthing families to provide comprehensive and non-judgmental perinatal education. Her goal is to make sure families are making informed choices that feel good and right for them.

Michelle Short

Michelle has been a birth worker for 5 years, and came to this calling after experiencing the powerful births of her own two children at home surrounded by loving support and stellar midwifery care. She approaches this work knowing that it’s not about where a person gives birth or how they give birth. It’s all about how people feel in, and about their birthing time that makes the real difference. That’s why Michelle loves providing birthing people and their families with the knowledge and tools to navigate the incredibly personal, impactful, and sometimes challenging decision making processes that come with growing, birthing, and feeding a tiny human. Along the way, witnessing people discover what is possible in birth, postpartum, and beyond along the way, certainly doesn't suck either.