Rhoda Ungalaq's mother had always said to her that “fresh air is medicine.”

The Iqaluit elder who co-founded and co-manages Uummati Perinatal Support with her business partner Megan Levy-Mason, a Nunavut doula, was guided by this principle when they decided to start their perinatal support group about five years ago.

Recently, this principle has been part of their recent three-day Inuit traditional knowledge social media challenge, where they encouraged Inuit and northerners alike to take part in traditional knowledge self-care activities, whether or not they are currently pregnant.

“Traditional Inuit knowledge says, 'Get fresh air every day. Get out of bed and go outside right after you wake up.' This is called 'anijaaq,'” Megan Levy-Mason said. “We encourage pregnant people to do this, but it is really good for everyone. We promote traditional birthing knowledge and doula care in our work and these values encourage healthy living.”

From Monday, March 8 to Wednesday, March 10, Uummati asked the public to prioritize going outside as soon as they woke up, to get some fresh air and take in their surroundings.

Then, if they took a selfie outside and posted it to social media using the #UummatiChallenge hashtag (or emailed the photo) participants would be entered into a draw to win a pair of mittens from Inuit artisan gift shop Malikkaat in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

The winner will be selected randomly next week. Uummati says followers can look forward to other similar challenges that seek to blend traditional Inuit knowledge with daily practice and self-care.

Levy-Mason says around “a dozen or so” people participated in this social media challenge. But the quantity matters much less to Uummati than the quality and passion they have for perinatal care, as well as the traditional knowledge they are able to weave into modern practice together with their team.

While Levy-Mason is the birth and postpartum doula at Uummati, and has been practicing for seven years, Ungalaq is the traditional Inuit birthing knowledge keeper at the organization. Levy-Mason says she has known Ungalaq for most of her life, since she grew up with Ungalaq's daughter, Naya. In fact, the first birth Levy-Mason supported as a doula was Ungalaq's grandson.

Since Ungalaq was also there for support, they realized right away that their values of doula care and traditional knowledge were very similar. Ungalaq had almost become a midwife in earlier years, she'd told Levy-Mason at the time, but instead worked as an educator, translator and interpreter over the years.

However, it was clear from that first birth they supported together that they both had passion to bring “continuous, non medical, culturally supportive care” into the modern birthing system so they started planning how they could work together to offer perinatal support to their community and Nunavut at large.

The first Uummati workshop was held in 2018.

Beyond just providing perinatal services, the two women also employ two support staff and 10 advisors and offer professional development training sessions for perinatal support workers all over Nunavut, as well as other workshops. Now, during COVID-19 times, these training sessions are available online through Zoom.

“If covid protocols happen, we roll with it and make new plans as they come,” Levy Mason said.

“With the stress of covid out there, support services such as ours are even more needed.”

They are planning to launch a full certification program in the future.

Uummati also collaborates and works with other Nunavut professionals and organizations. Their main collaborative partner is "Tasiuqtigiit - Hand in Hand Society." They also run ongoing Uummati workshops available at Iqaluit's Inuksuk High School and the Tammaativvik Boarding Home.

“Many of the tips we provide, such as this first challenge, aren't just for women who are pregnant or recently pregnant,” Ungalaq says.

“They're for everyone. We want both partners and, in fact, anyone to recognize the value of traditional knowledge that is still so relevant today.”