Monika Krzywania

Monika Krzywania is a PhD Candidate in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Northern British Columbia, working with Dr. Sarah de Leeuw and Dr. Margo Greenwood. She is a health geographer whose current research interests lie at the intersections of culture, place, and health in pregnancy, birthing, and after-birth healthcare services (perinatal care). Monika’s dissertation research, “Geographies of Northern Perinatal Care”, engages directly with perinatal care users, providers, and decision-makers to investigate ways to keep perinatal care safe, accessible, and as close to home as possible for residents of northern BC. Monika would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Health Arts Research Centre, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the University of Northern British Columbia for the research funding that makes this project possible.

Prior to coming to UNBC, Monika did an MA in Geography at Carleton University in Ottawa, ON and a BSc in Anatomy and Cell Biology at McGill University in Montréal, QC. Her previous graduate work followed the anti-colonial resistance of Indigenous midwifery practitioners, in what is now Eastern Ontario and Western Québec, as they work to bring birth back to their communities. More specifically, this research traced the ways in which a group of Indigenous midwifery practitioners challenge normative understandings of risk and safety in healthcare legislation and policy, advocating for better health outcomes and care experiences for their clients.

Outside of academic life, Monika moonlights as a semi-professional toddler wrangler (50-50 success rate), aspiring green thumb, and proprietor of one too many cookbooks. Originally from Ontario, Monika is grateful to be raising her family on the unceded territories of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation in Prince George. She especially enjoys exploring all of the incredible outdoor recreation opportunities that northern BC has to offer.

If you would like to know more about Monika’s research, please don’t hesitate to contact her at krzywania@unbc.ca