Losing a child during pregnancy and the first year of infancy is a feeling too many families are familiar with. In the United States, 10-25% of all clinically recognized pregnancies will end in miscarriage and there are 25,000 stillbirths a year. BirthWaves, a new local non profit organization, is hoping to ease the burden a little by offering birth and postpartum doulas to grieving fami-lies.
“Grief is such a strange emotion”, says Lynelle Horsch - doula for BirthWaves, “when you least expect it, it can punch you so hard that you literally can feel your heart breaking.” Lynelle’s granddaughter, Catherine was born in 2015 and lived for only 3 minutes.
A doula provides physical and emotional support during pregnancy, birth and during the postpartum period. The Ancient Greek referred to them as ‘a woman’s servant.’ Modern day doulas are trained in all aspects of birth and provide non-medical support to both the mother and her partner.
BirthWaves doulas are not only trained to serve new parents, they specifically cater to families who experience the death of their baby during pregnancy or any time in the first year of life. Families who suffer a loss from miscarriage, termination, fatal diagnosis, stillbirth, SIDS, illness or injury can rest knowing that there is a supportive, caring and nonjudgmental doula available to them.
“What we learned by researching services in our area is that there was a huge lack of support for these families experiencing loss,” says Katie Marcum co-founder and doula at BirthWaves. “It was important to us to fully support all types of loss while also not charging families for our work.”
BirthWaves is a registered 501(c)3 or-ganization with the IRS. All donations are tax deductible and can be made directly to the organization by mail: 109 S St John Lyons, KS 67554 or securely online at www.birthwaves.org/donate. The current service area includes: Hutchinson, Wichita, Newton, Lyons, McPherson, Pratt, Salina, Manhattan, Topeka, Junction City, Fort Riley, Emporia, Clay Center, El Dorado, Great Bend, Andale and surrounding areas of Kansas.
For more information contact director@birthwaves.org.