 Something Rebecca and I have in common is that we have both have a background as a labor doula (her much more so than I). So we have witnessed the amazing and beautiful revolution focusing on empowering birth as it continues to take the country by storm. Since we started having children, labor doulas have become more popular. The suggestion of hiring one has increased in mainstream bump and parenting magazines. And for good reason! Labor doulas are incredible additions to the birth team. We aren't trying to steal the light from the labor doulas nor negate the importance of an empowered birth, we simply want to extend that focus to the perinatal period, of which childbirth encompasses a day or two. If you are pregnant now, who is on your postpartum team? Have you created a plan? Have you been stressing about preparing for your baby's arrival? Did you know an antenatal doula could help with that? If you are not currently pregnant, think back, if you aren't fully into the amnesia stage, you may remember more than a few times of self doubt, tears, or frustration; wishing someone who understood was there to help you. Enter the postpartum doula.
 Realizing how powerful a mother is when she is properly supported during her postpartum period, Rebecca and I started talking about postpartum doulas. We developed a dream of placing postpartum doulas that understand the early signs and symptoms of perinatal distress into the homes of every new mother. You know how this goes, Rebecca and I decided once again, that we might as well start somewhere.
On July 17th, The Seventh Mom Project, Inc. launched our social enterprise, Tampa Bay Perinatal Professionals. This enterprise is a perinatal doula agency that truly knows motherhood is not always sunshine and rainbows; doula agency ready for any mother, regardless the weather. We hope you are as excited as we are for this journey! Holding the umbrella, Elizabeth
0 Comments
 You may have noticed our blogging output has decreased somewhat this summer. But fear not, this does not mean we are not here. We are simply in the background working hard on building a strong foundation for The Seventh Mom Project, Inc. As we have been actively hosting groups, facilitating workshops, and writing grants, one might agree with me when I say, we have been truly building this plane as it flies. A few things that are running our world right now (aside from the children on summer break) are: The development of a resource directory. We are collaborating with Postpartum Society of Florida, Inc. to bring to you a list of easily accessible and appropriately trained providers. If you are a provider and would like to be a part of the resources we offer moms that come to us in distress, please contact us! The launching of a perinatal doula agency. Check out Tampa Bay Perinatal Professionals! We launched this agency as our social enterprise. We hope to assist by putting the help moms need in their homes, with limited effort or searching for the right perinatal professional. If you are searching for the right person to help you weather those last few weeks of pregnancy or the first few weeks after the arrival of your new baby, this is definitely a inquiry you want to make! We started a third group in St. Petersburg. This SAMMI Support Group is held at Happy Healthy Spine on the first Wednesday of the month at 10 am. You may have also noticed a new look to our website. We are hoping to make this search for support as easy as possible for moms and families in distress. If you have any feedback, please contact us! So don't worry. We are here. You are not alone. Weathering the storm, Elizabeth     Hey there mothers, and others who love them! Today I have another one of my fun history lessons. Can you tell I’m kind of a social studies nerd? It’s cool though, I hear great people never stop learning and I have great plans to accomplish. So, March 8th, (today if my editor did this right) celebrates International Women's Day (IWD). In different parts of the world, celebrations range from ceremonious acts of respect, appreciation, and love towards women to demonstrations calling for acknowledgement and parity for women's economic, political, and social achievements. You can learn more about the history of International Women’s Day here. Though political in history, many places mark Woman’s Day simply an occasion for people to express their love for women; think love child of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. However, Hallmark hasn’t laid claim everywhere. There are parts of the globe where the political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations is heavily campaigned on IWD. Political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are highlighted; hopeful for change. Which reminds me, have you got your #MomsMatter twibbon yet? You see, despite the advances of women in the workforce, science, politics(don’t forget to vote!) there are still areas where women are not being celebrated. In fact, in many segments of society, women are not being cared for appropriately. Maternal Health, specifically maternal mental health is an example of one of these areas. Here are some ways you can help bring advancement to the care of the 600,000 American women suffering in silence right now. The National Coalition for Maternal Mental Health has put together this great tool kit. There are some pretty darn important bills going on right now. We wrote about them during last month's social media campaign, found here. It’s way past time we ended the stigma of mental illness and stop feeding the mythic monster that motherhood should look like some 1950’s sitcom. Please don’t let these important women's health issues fall through the cracks. Our health matters so much more than a day on the calendar. In addition to “Bringing Postpartum Depression out of the Shadows”, there are two additional bills I need to share. The Florida Senate is currently considering HB423 and SB676. These legislative bills aim to provide APRNs - Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Midwives, and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists- with full prescriptive authority. The passage of this legislation will allow Nurse Practitioners to write prescriptions for controlled substances beyond the limited options they currently have. The state of Florida is the only state in the nation where APRNs do not currently have such full prescriptive authority. The bills HB423, SB676, need support of the constituents. We’ll be getting more into detail about this later this month. Be on the lookout for details of our chat with a local Certified Nurse Midwife from USF Health regarding this initiative. This would be supportive to the treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders for Florida families. Here at The Seventh Mom Project, Inc. we aren’t only working hard to advance the quality of care for women. We are celebrating too. We celebrate the awesome accomplishments of all the amazing women who have paved our way to bring some attention to the woman still struggling today. Specifically today, we raise a toast celebrating our mentors and honoring our S.I.S.T.E.R. Moms. We celebrate the brave women that have sought our services and share their stories. We celebrate the women still waiting to make contact. And yes, sadly, while celebrating these inspirational survivors, we simultaneously hold a moment of silence for those who lost their battle against maternal mental illness and remind ourselves to keep working. So in closing, today is the day to celebrate your mothers, your sisters, your daughters, your girlfriends. Celebrate also, what we can achieve when we work together to improve the quality of lives for women locally, nationally and globally. Celebrate YOU. Be proud; you are AMAZING! Standing with women, Rebecca A note from the editor:
Check out these great 2015 celebrations worldwide. Guyana Ankara, Turkey My baby is crying.. google it to find more! Standing for my daughter, Elizabeth |
Each walk is different, but we walk together, and that makes all the
|
RSS Feed