The Bloom Doula

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Birth Injury Center

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One of the major keys to being a doula is providing evidence based resources! Resources that are both meaningful and helpful. Birth injuries are not discussed much in the laboring and birth process, or often thought about until they happen. It can be hard to navigate such issues as these, especially when you are not aware of the resources that may be available to help you. I had the honor of being contacted by the Director of Outreach for an advocacy center called the Birth Injury Center.

The mission of the Birth Injury Center is “To assist anyone who has been affected by a birth injury”. The website is a collection of information about the different types of injuries. They offer resources to assist these families, and plan to continue adding more! Cerebral Palsy is the most common motor disability for children and it affects 1 in every 345 kids. That is why the center also has information and resources specifically for those with CP and their families.

For more information, you can visit their website at https://birthinjurycenter.org/. If you would like access the resources specifically for cerebral palsy, here is the link  birthinjurycenter.org/cerebral-palsy/.

Project Cradle Care Community Baby Shower Announcement

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This year the Delta Pi Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. is hosting a community baby shower February 17, 2024 from 11 am to 2 pm. This event will be held at the Galleria Mall (open common area by JCPenny) located at Galleria Mall Drive, Warner Robins, GA 31088.

Please share this flyer with any pregnant mom (5 to 9 months pregnant) that you feel may benefit from this opportunity 🙂. We will be giving out goodie bags, resource information, and raffle prizes 🎟️!!

“Greater Service, Greater Progress. Greater Women, Greater World”

Project Cradle Care 2023

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Along with being a doula, I am a member of the Delta Pi Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. One of our national projects is Project Cradle Care (PCC). The goal is to raise awareness of unequal and discriminatory maternal and infant health outcomes Black women endure through community outreach, advocacy, education, and bias training. Black women, regardless of educational level, socioeconomic status, health insurance coverage, proximity to health care services, marital status, and other health behaviors, are twelve times more likely to die from pregnancy and delivery complications in some parts of our country. This is a serious health care issue as it affects over 22 million individuals, excluding the men and children who become adversely affected by poor outcomes. In collaboration with The March of Dimes, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority aims to address the various issues that adversely affect Black maternal and infant health outcomes and life course.

On February 7, 2023, we threw our first community baby shower in collaboration with Macon-Bibb County EOCI’s Early Head Start Mass Registration Kickoff in Macon, GA. We were able to give out prenatal and postpartum information, baby bags, bassinets, a whole pack of diapers, and a drawstring bag full of goodies to 34 prenatal moms! Mrs. Patricia Prime of Prime BabyTime Consulting, LLC and It Takes a Village – Maternal Health Expo provided postpartum information to our prenatal moms and donated for the raffle prizes!! Soror Alice Wright at the Macon Department of Public Health donated three boxes of baby bags!! Choosing A Quality Life (CQUL) and The Southern Center for Choice Theory, LLC provided us with the majority of our goodies that we were able to give to the prenatal moms (baby blankets, bibs, Honey Pot pads, etc.). Anita R. Howard, District Attorney, Macon Judicial Circuit’s office provided our prenatal moms with bassinets and refreshments!! Soror Amil Jones and Ms. Ariel Hendricks Johnson donated items and money towards raffle prizes!!! Soror Courtney Traylor donated preemie diapers!!!

We are looking forward to throwing another community baby shower next year!!!

I Am The Bloom Doula

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I am the Bloom Doula 🌻. I’m here to help you have the birth you want on your terms! My personal opinion isn’t valid, and my personal projections are not warranted in YOUR space. I am a resource, not a source…and I’m here for you the way you need me to be 💛.

Belly of the Beast

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*Note: I do not own the rights to these images

I had the liberty of watching Belly of the Beast thanks to Mama Glow. This film by Erika Cohn follows Kelli Dillon, an ex-convict that filed a lawsuit after she was sterilized by doctors in the prison without her consent. The film follows her and Cynthia Chandler as they navigate trying to get laws in California changed to ban illegal sterilizations on women and transgendered men in prison. This film was good but it was so heavy. This was a true testament to how black and brown bodies are not respected. It also shows how we are continuously seen as property and people feel they can do whatever they want to us. The discussion afterwards was good as well.

If you ever get a chance to watch it, please do! As a doula, this gave me further confirmation that I am important, I am needed, and I am right where I’m supposed to be.

To all my fellow birth workers, thank you for showing up. Thank you for doing this work, and serving in a cause that is bigger than your own ❤️.