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- U.S. cesarean birth rate declines slightly
- Summary of the latest breastfeeding research
- Carrying babies “late” runs in families.
- High Dose of Yeast Infection Drug Linked to Birth Defects, FDA Says
- Induction may be safe for some VBACs
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Doula Programs & Funding Cycles
If you are new to grant writing and trying to fund a doula program, you may not be aware that most funders have well established funding cycles. For some funders, such as March of Dimes, this may mean only one time per year, whereas others may have two or three cycles per year. In the case of March of Dimes, 2011 funding decisions are a done deal, so you are already looking ahead to 2012 and the RFP (Request for Proposals) will likely be released late February or March.
I recommend that you devote some time in the near future to creating a calendar of the top 4-5 RFPs, suitable for funding doula programs, for the coming year. Note the deadlines on your calendar. Not all funders will have the RFP details available now, but it may be possible to get on a notification email list once they are released. The point is to get on top of it.
Your most promising options are funders who are a good mission match. Try not to be seduced by the temptation to “chase the money.” Rather, choose funders whose stated funding priorities are closely aligned with what you are already doing or with what you want to do. If you are just getting started, look for funders who want to provide “seed money” for new initiatives. Do not neglect your local community foundation. They provide local funds to solve local problems.
Happy New Year! Wishing you great success …
The Doula Programs blog provides a forum for doula program visionaries and implementers to consider common challenges, ask questions, and learn from each other. Patty Brennan is the author of The Doula Business Guide: Creating a Successful MotherBaby Business.
Doula Business Advisor: From Mastermind to Wise Woman
Last week I recommended that small business owners, including doulas, participate in a Mastermind marketing group that pulls together business owners from a variety of disciplines. To give you an idea, my group includes owners of the following businesses: carpet cleaning, home security, a money coach, an engraver, a CPA, an Adwords specialist, a web marketer, a graphic artist, a farmer with a corn maze, and me–the birth lady.
While the cross-fertilization (so to speak) of these businesses is very beneficial, it is nevertheless still recommended to meet with a group of savvy business owners in the doula or maternal-infant health industry as well. Hopefully, you can team up with folks who are not directly competing with you. I participate in one such group that includes a lactation consultant, a birth photographer, a retired midwife now involved in home death and green burial, and me. We call ourselves the “Wise Woman” marketing group.
One of the primary functions of the groups, beyond information sharing, is to hold each other and ourselves accountable for accomplishing marketing goals and objectives. If you have nothing to bring to the group, then there is nothing for the group to help you with and no point for you to be there. Deadlines help us all be more productive.
The Doula Business Advisor blog is designed to support the establishment and long-term sustainability of private doula businesses. Patty Brennan is the author of The Doula Business Guide: Creating a Successful MotherBaby Business.
Doula Programs & Maternal Depression
Managing Maternal Depression
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has published a new clinical report addressing the issue of managing maternal depression before and after birth. “Incorporating Recognition and Management of Perinatal and Postpartum Depression into Pediatric Practice” notes that more than 400,000 infants are born each year to mothers who are depressed, making perinatal depression the most under-diagnosed obstetric complication in America. Pediatric practices are encouraged to screen mothers for postpartum depression, to use community resources for the treatment and referral of the depressed mother, and to provide support for the mother-child relationship.
Can you think of an angle for forging community partnerships between pediatric practices and doula programs? Look for funders interested in depression issues (not just during the childbearing year), family health, and infant mental health. This report indicates an “unmet need,” which is why your doula program is important. Make the link for the funder! How can doulas help?
The Doula Programs blog provides a forum for doula program visionaries and implementers to consider common challenges, ask questions, and learn from each other. Patty Brennan is the author of The Doula Business Guide: Creating a Successful MotherBaby Business.
Birth & Parenting News: Become an Informed Birth Consumer
Interventions Result in Longer Labor. A study in the September 2010 Obstetrics & Gynecology by Sarah Osmundson, MD et al, titled “Elective Induction Compared With Expectant Management in Nulliparous Women With a Favorable Cervix,” found that for first-time mothers with a favorable cervix for induction, the cesarean rate was comparable to first-time mothers who were expectantly managed. However, with induction, the labor was longer and required more interventions. This resulted in a longer hospital stay and use of health care resources, with no compelling evidence of improved outcomes for mothers or babies.
Inductions Increase Second Stage Labor Complications, Risks for Women. In the September 2010 Obstetrics & Gynecology, a study titled “Comparing the Second Stage in Induced and Spontaneous Labor,” by Vanitha Janakiraman, MD et al, looked at the duration of labor and rate of complications in both groups. Although women who were induced and had previously given birth did not have an increased risk of maternal or fetal complications during the second stage, women induced in their first pregnancy were found to have an increased risk of cesarean and postpartum hemorrhage when compared to primiparous women who had a spontaneous labor.
Fewer Women Face Trauma of Episiotomy. The MFCI discourages practices and procedures that are unsupported by scientific evidence, including episiotomies. Progress has been made in reducing the use of episiotomy in hospital births as concluded by authors Sallie S. Oliphant, MD et al in a report published in the October 2010 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The study found episiotomy rates have decreased by more than 75% from 1979 to 2006 in the article titled “Trends Over Time With Commonly Performed Obstetric and Gynecologic Inpatient Procedures.”
Comment: These reports demonstrate, time and time again, that birth seems to work best when we don’t mess with it. In the case of episiotomy, the standard of care and common practice have finally caught up with what the evidence — or more correctly stated — LACK OF EVIDENCE demonstrates. One can only wonder when the countless other common practices that increase risks for moms and babies with no corresponding improvement in outcomes will go the way of episiotomy.
Each Wednesday, our Birth & Parenting News blog highlights the latest news items, research results, consumer alerts, and legislative action alerts of interest to expectant and new parents and the professionals who work them.
The Doula Business Advisor: The Mastermind Concept
From the famous Napoleon Hill book, Think and Grow Rich, we get the Mastermind Group idea, widely practiced by groups of entrepreneur/small business owners world wide. The Mastermind concept involves bringing together diverse business owners who take turns helping each other with marketing and business development advice. Groups typically meet monthly at a set time and place and should be tightly structured. Each member brings a problem they want help with or a marketing piece they want critiqued. A timer is set and the group focuses for (however many) minutes on the problem at hand, and then they go on to the next person.
This is an amazing and cool process. I have learned so much and especially appreciate the perspectives of folks who are involved in VERY different fields than mine. It really helps for all of us to get out of our bubbles once in a while.
The Doula Business Advisor blog is designed to support the establishment and long-term sustainability of private doula businesses. Patty Brennan is the author of The Doula Business Guide: Creating a Successful MotherBaby Business.
Doula Programs & Prematurity
Prematurity
The Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation today released an issue brief on prematurity that shows pre-term births are the leading cause of health problems in infants and cost the U.S. more than $26 billion annually. In addition, the report shows that a black infant in Michigan is 70% more likely to be born prematurely than an infant of any other race.
Racial disparities in health outcomes is a hot topic and one for which targeted funding is available. See last week’s blog regarding making the link between doula programs and prematurity prevention. Today’s link may provide necessary data to establish a baseline for evaluation of your program’s outcomes for grant funders such as March of Dimes.
The Doula Programs blog provides a forum for doula program visionaries and implementers to consider common challenges, ask questions, and learn from each other. Patty Brennan is the author of The Doula Business Guide: Creating a Successful MotherBaby Business.
Birth & Parenting News: Become an Informed Birth Consumer
Here are some interesting links to hot topics.
Antibiotics Recommended Before Cesarean Delivery. New recommendations from ACOG call for all pregnant women to be given antibiotics before having a cesarean delivery to help prevent infections. According to ACOG, infection is the most common complication of cesarean delivery, occurring in 10% to 40% of women who have a
cesarean. In comparison, infection occurs in only 1% to 3% of women who deliver vaginally. Previously antibiotics were generally given to women after their baby was born and the umbilical cord was clamped, due to concerns that antibiotics in the baby’s bloodstream from the mother would interfere with newborn lab tests or could lead to antibiotic-resistant infections. The latest data show that antibiotics given to pregnant women prior to cesarean delivery significantly reduce maternal morbidity and do not harm newborns. Read more. Comment: Consider, however, adverse effects on breastfeeding due to increased incidence of thrush — a direct downstream effect of antibiotic use.
Lamaze News Release Knocks “Ice-Chips-Only” Policies. Are health care providers and administrators at your local institutions receptive to evidence-based feedback? You might share with them this news release from Lamaze International, titled “Why Ice Chips Can Chip Away At a Healthy Birth.”
Alternative Birthing Rooms Yield Better Outcomes. Women who birth in alternative settings within the hospital environment have better outcomes than those who have their babies in a traditional hospital ward, according to an updated Cochrane review. The review found that women who birthed in rooms that were bed-free or designed to be more home-like were 18% less likely to use pain medication and 22% less likely to be given oxytocin to speed labor. The likelihood of birth by cesarean section decreased by 11%. Read the review.
Each Wednesday, we highlight the latest news items, research results, consumer alerts, and legislative action alerts of interest to expectant and new parents and the professionals who work them.
The Doula Business Advisor: More on Marketing
What are the top five essential elements of an effective marketing piece?
- An Irresistible Offer (usually something is given free, known among marketers as a “widget”)
- A Guarantee (removes the risk for the customer; make it specific, succinct, and meaningful)
- A Deadline or Call to Action (convey a sense of urgency by stating a deadline in the near future rather than an open-ended offer; you want people to act now)
- Testimonials to overcome objections (what someone else says about you is much more believable than claims you make about yourself)
- A Response Mechanism (In other words, what do you want the person to do? Go to your website? Use an order form? Cash in a gift certificate or coupon? Make it easy!)
The five elements were developed by business coach Derek Freund. Before and after you develop a marketing piece of any kind, put it through this filter and see if it includes all of the five elements.
The Doula Business Advisor blog is designed to support the establishment and long-term sustainability of private doula businesses. Patty Brennan is the author of The Doula Business Guide: Creating a Successful MotherBaby Business.
Doula Programs: Appreciate the Doulas!
In the volunteer community-based doula program that I headed for over eight years, we developed an annual Doula Appreciation event each December, prior to the holidays. The idea was to “nurture the nurturers.” This can be a little-to-no-cost event. As a nonprofit, we were able to get local caterers to donate services each year and put out a lovely spread of sweet and savory treats. Hang some Christmas lights. Add Candlelight. Offer some decent wine (use wine glasses, not plastic cups).
For entertainment, we played music and brought in enough massage therapists for each doula to receive a half-hour chair massage or foot massage. One year, we had a therapist present a half-hour session on self care. Another year, we were able to get a small gift bag of self care items for each doula to take home. It’s all about making the doulas feel special for a change. A little goes a long way here, but the bottom line is make sure your volunteer doulas feel appreciated for their efforts.
We never did this but I wish I had thought of it: How about having former clients come in and something nice for the doulas? Bake a cake? Tell a story about how their doula helped them? (Video record this for promotional and fundraising purposes.) Give the clients the opportunity to give back.
The Doula Programs blog provides a forum for doula program visionaries and implementers to consider common challenges, ask questions, and learn from each other. Patty Brennan is the author of The Doula Business Guide: Creating a Successful MotherBaby Business.
Birth & Parenting News: VBAC News
ACOG Loosens Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) Guidelines. Last July, ACOG issued new guidelines for VBAC, including a statement that “attempting a VBAC is a safe and appropriate choice for most women who have had a prior cesarean delivery, including for some women who have had two previous cesareans.” In a news release, Richard N. Waldman, MD, ACOG president said, “The current cesarean rate is undeniably high and absolutely concerns us … These VBAC guidelines emphasize the need for thorough counseling of benefits and risks, shared patient-doctor decision making, and the importance of patient autonomy. Moving forward, we need to work collaboratively with our patients and our colleagues, hospitals, and insurers to swing the pendulum back to fewer cesareans and a more reasonable VBAC rate.” While this change has been hailed as good news by many in the birth world, a number of birth advocacy organizations have said the new guidelines do not go far enough. Read the ACOG news release, as well as responses from CIMS and ICAN.
A Woman’s Guide to VBAC–Navigating the NIH Consensus Recommendations is a new online resource guide available on the Lamaze International Giving Birth with Confidence blog. The guide offers helpful information on the decision to have a VBAC, critical gaps in evidence, and women’s legal rights.
Statistics show that cesarean birth rates depend on where mom lives. See Michigan stats.
Each Wednesday, our Birth & Parenting News blog highlights the latest news items, research results, consumer alerts, and legislative action alerts of interest to expectant and new parents and the professionals who work them.