From the WBWC Blog:

News

Latest news non-related to individual births.

Peer Counseling Breastfeeding Support Program

By Dzidzai Muyengwa We have some exciting new changes coming to WBWC this summer and we wanted to take this opportunity to give you some information about our new Peer Counseling Breastfeeding Support Program. This program is being offered to provide birth center breastfeeding parents with some extra support during pregnancy and for the length of their breastfeeding journey.   What is a peer counselor? A peer counselor is a parent who breastfed at least one child, who then completes specialized training to learn about supporting other breastfeeding parents. The peer counselor is trained to support typical challenges in breastfeeding, and can also help you decide when it may be time to seek support from a Lactation Consultant. There is a strong evidence base for the effects of peer counselors on improving breastfeeding outcomes.   Our peer counselor is someone you all know and love – Tracey Jones, who you see in the lab at almost every visit! We will begin enrolling interested patients starting in the coming weeks, with a special focus on those who may not otherwise have easy access to breastfeeding support or education.  We are excited about this new opportunity to better serve WBWC families!

WBWC Earns “Triple Aim” Best Practice Recognition

The American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM) has designated WBWC as a “Triple Aim” Best Practice. This means that we have met the goals set by the Institute for Health Improvement of 1) improving patient experiences; 2) reducing the cost of care; and 3) improving the health of populations. We demonstrated these three goals through our low rates of cesarean and preterm birth, high breastfeeding rates, and the affordability of our services. Out of 257 participating practices, only 97 received this designation. We are proud to continue to offer high-quality care to our families and improve the health of our community!

WBWC’s First Ever Podcast

This year we were honored to work with a talented group of students from The Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC, who put together our first ever podcast. Thanks to Maire Amlicke, Andrea Fitzgerald, Nupur Jain, Alexis Millan and Jordan Wise for your hard work this year!  

WBWC Welcomes Midwives from Brazil

                  Maureen Darcey, CNM and Brianna Bennett, Business Director teach “How to Start a Birth Center” workshops for the American Association of Birth Centers.  This fall, they got the privilege of teaching 5 birth center pioneers from Brazil. Two of the Brazilian midwives, Jessica Cirelli and Ana Cristina Duarte, came to spend time at Women’s Birth & Wellness Center during April to learn everything they could about how to operate a successful, free-standing birth center.  Ana and Jessica are bringing back their knowledge to the group and using it to accomplish their next goal:  opening a birth center in São Paulo, where cesarean rates now stand at 60% (90% in the private health sector).   Jessica writes, “I would like to thank each of you for all the patience, care, and attention you have given me.  The team you have here is extremely passionate, all with strong personalities, and everyone on the team is unique. The unity that you all share is the respect for the women… Thank you for allowing me to be part of this family in the last 3 weeks. I’m returning to Brazil with a huge bag of knowledge and more willingness to fight for a dignified assistance, with midwives, and where women can be the center of attention. Thank you for allowing me to experience this unique opportunity.  You are changing care in Brazil as well.”  

Vote for WBWC!

Voting is open for Indy Week’s Best of the Triangle 2018! You can vote for WBWC until 12 AM May 21 in the following categories: *Best Nurse Midwife in Orange/Chatham County *Best Women’s Healthcare Practice in Orange/Chatham County *Best OB/GYN in Orange/Chatham County Click here and choose “Health & Body” to find us. Thanks for your support!

4th Annual Women’s Health Awareness Day

On Satuday, April 7, WBWC will have a booth at the Women’s Health Awareness Day Conference at NC Central University! You can participate in free health screenings, health education and healthy living sessions, and learn more about health resources! Registration is free. Activities will take place from 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM at the Mary Townes Science Building, located at 1900 Concord Street in Durham (NCCU campus). Click here or contact Lynae Thomas at lynae.thomas@nih.gov or (919)541-9844 for more information or register for this event!

WBWC Open House

Join us Saturday, April 28 from 10 AM-2 PM as we open our doors to WBWC families and the community. We’d love to see families who have birthed with us before, or who are planning a WBWC birth sometime in the future! Come meet our experienced and supportive midwife team, tour our birth center and clinic, enter to win door prizes, and get to know some of our fantastic community partners. Bring the whole family – there will be activities for kids and light refreshments. Learn about out-of-hospital birth and see what makes WBWC special: the people! We hope to see you there!

4 Reasons You Need “Me Time” & What to Do When You Can’t Take It

by Claire Caprioli You know that frustrating, tightening feeling in your chest when you feel like all you want is a little stinkin’ time alone? You know, like, to poop? Welcome to motherhood!Here are 4 reasons why you need “me time”: You are human. You’re not a machine, and guess what? Even vending machines, regularly handing out chocolate bars, sodas, and chips need replenishment. They run out, too. You simply           cannot give what you don’t have. Recognizing your humanity helps you to be a better mother. If you don’t take a little time for yourself, resentment quietly builds. No child deserves a resentful mother, so ask for help. Do it! No mother should constantly go it alone, and all mothers understand this. If you can’t rely on other family members, then your neighborhood, community center, church, and library all have other moms. They may already have free or cheap programs or support groups to help. Ask.  “Me time” teaches your children that you’re human. It teaches them compassion and understanding, especially when you take a moment to explain it to them. Go ahead, use my vending machine analogy (it made sense to you, didn’t it?) You need to give yourself love so that you have more love to hand out. They may give you a hard time at first, but you are teaching a larger lesson.  It teaches children that they, too, need “me time.” It teaches them that self-love is important, worthwhile, and makes them and those around them happier. Great, I understand WHY I need time to myself, but what if I still can’t take it?  You are strong. Your ancestors did not know the term “me time”, so draw on their strength. Think about the women on the Oregon Trail. They often had no choice in the decision to pack up and move, and may have been pregnant while toting several young children along. There was dysentery. There was cholera. They may have buried several children and even their husband (whose brilliant idea it was to leave home) along the way only to arrive in a strange place completely destitute. They did what they had to do. Note: the incredible collective strength of women can be empowering to draw on in moments of stress, but is not advisable long term. Yes, they were strong (so are you), but nothing says they were happy. … Read More

Svea Oster

Svea Oster died February 19 from complications of the flu. Svea was a legend in the Triangle as an advocate of women, midwives, and natural birth. She was a home birth attendant, a childbirth educator, a doula, and my dear friend! The circle of life has closed too soon. I met Svea thirty-eight years ago, when I first moved to Chapel Hill, for my husband to go to school. I was a brand-new graduate of midwifery school with no job and no friends. When I attended a meeting about birth options at the Women’s Resource Center (now the Compass Center), I met this amazing woman who changed my life! As our friendship developed, she taught me to trust my instincts and trust the process of birth. She encouraged me to start attending births of folks she knew through her friendships and with women who were getting care at the Chatham Family Birth Center (CFBC), the precursor to WBWC. Svea and I attended births for almost a year before I “got caught” – attending home births was illegal per state law. Svea and her husband Arnie were instrumental in getting the midwifery law passed that opened the doors for CNMs to attend births in homes, birth centers, and hospitals. She helped me open WBWC twenty-two years ago when we met with people from the Carolina Association for the Advancement of Midwifery and were able to get a state grant. Svea continued to touch the lives of hundreds of families as she taught childbirth education classes in the community and at WBWC, until she retired a few years ago. Our connections spanned the generations. Svea was the birth assistant at the birth of my own daughter thirty-six years ago, and I was the CNM at her daughter’s birth at home thirty-five years ago. Over the years, we have continued to travel in the same birth circle. I had the pleasure of catching both her son’s and daughter’s first children at the birth center. Her daughter-in-law was also born at the CFBC. Thank you, Svea, for letting me freely participate in the “circle of life.” WBWC and I will never forget all you have done in the birth community over the years, your passion, and your smile, and your love! ~Maureen Darcey Arnie has requested that donations be made in Svea’s honor to WBWC. Visit our donation page for more information.   

Study Shows Birth Center Care Improves Outcomes

From 2013-2016 Women’s Birth & Wellness Center participated in the Strong Start for New Mother and Newborns Initiative through the American Association of Birth Centers (AABC). This study provided funding to collect data on Medicaid patients at birth centers, including WBWC. AABC’s Strong Start program aimed to use birth center care to help prevent preterm birth, low birthweight, and costly interventions for those at the highest risk for complications. From the time that enrollment began in June of 2013, a diverse group of more than 8,300 women have participated in AABC’s Strong Start program at 46 birth center sites, with over 6,100 Strong Start births. This study found that the birth center model of care achieved the aims of improved population health, patient experience, and value. What does this really mean? Choosing to birth in a hospital was associated with nearly 4 times the risk of a cesarean birth compared with a birth center among medically low-risk Medicaid beneficiaries. Strong Start participants also had a decreased risk preterm birth and of low birth weight Birth centers showed the highest rates of satisfaction with both the prenatal care and delivery experience. 96% of patients were very satisfied or extremely satisfied with their prenatal care at birth centers and 84% were very satisfied or extremely satisfied with their delivery experience. Additionally, by lowering the rates of caesarean births and pre-term births, Strong Start patients saw an estimated $28 million in Medicaid savings. This study supported what we know and have seen through our experiences – that the birth center model of care lowers the risks of complications and honors and supports the preferences of the birthing person. Birth Center prenatal care is time intensive and relationship-based. Enhanced prenatal care includes referrals to needed resources, health education and emotional support. Midwives provide longer visits to achieve these outcomes. Women’s Birth & Wellness Center is the only free-standing birth center in the Triangle that accepts Medicaid patients. The Strong Start grant funding has ended, but through your support we can continue to provide this exceptional midwifery-model of care in a place of wellness to all women and birthing individuals. Please visit https://ncbirthcenter.org/donate/ to learn how you can help. As a Paypal Giving Fund recipient, there are no fees associated with your online donation, and your entire donation is used to serve our mission. Thank you in advance for your support!

Allison Koch Celebrates 10 Years at WBWC

By Tori Hinde This month marked 10 years that Midwife Allison Koch has been a care provider at WBWC. This is a milestone in her 34-year career that has focused on supporting and caring for women. Allison arrived at WBWC after leaving her successful midwifery practice in rural, upstate New York, where she began her career as a nurse. Allison first went to nursing school in the 1980s, after her first child was born. She was drawn to nursing because of the variety of things she could do with the degree. As she floated around to different positions, trying to find her fit, she realized that she always gravitated toward case management and any opportunity to build a relationship with her patients and their families. When a temporary position opened up in labor and delivery, several other nurses encouraged her to apply. By the end of the first month, her position was made permanent. She had found her new home. “It was an incredible place to learn and grow up with vaginal birth. I did that for 12-13 years, and over that time, the dynamic changed a bit as some of the family medicine doctors retired from doing obstetrics. As the balance shifted away from family medicine toward more and more OBs, little by little, it became a more medicalized birth environment,” said Allison. “As that was happening, and while I was teaching childbirth classes and training new nurses, I was having a hard time seeing how this would end for women in my care. I had a particularly tough night and decided that I either needed to get out of labor and delivery or go back to school and get more education so I can be part of the solution. Within 24 hours, I decided I was going back to school.” Allison dove into her studies.  First, she completed a satellite program to earn her BSN. Then, with the help of funding to train nurse practitioners to serve in rural areas, she began a distance learning Master’s of Midwifery program with SUNY-Stony Brook while continuing to work part-time as a labor and delivery nurse. “Even though it was challenging, I read the books cover to cover, highlighted things that seemed important to ME,” said Allison. “We were challenged to think for ourselves, and it was a great way to learn and build who I am as a practitioner. When … Read More