Misha + Mama

The raddest little team.

Photo Roundup: The Kiddos of Fall

I told you about the Babes of Summer, but I've got to take a minute to brag on the Kiddos of Fall. Playing with these little people was the absolute best, and I'm still picking the seed pods off my clothing.

Their tiny faces are just a-poppin with feelings, and it always amazes me how quickly they are able to forget that the camera is there, shoot off like a rocket of energy, and then turn around and fix me in a gaze that blows my mind. They're my role models, truly. Gonna be like them, if I'm lucky.

Safe Birth and Doula Supplies for Honduras Extravaganza 2014 Because Babies

Hi, friends, family, and rad community,

I’m writing because I’m preparing to head back to Honduras for another doula trip in December! I’m so amped. Last year, folks generously sent me down there with some awesome donations for the hospitals, families, and midwives that I collaborate with. Your generosity really blew me away, and I’d like to emphasize again that, while I’m pretty uncomfortable asking people for donations of any kind, everything went to really good use.

 If you want to stop reading now, that’s fine.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE AMAZON REGISTRY: http://www.amazon.com/registry/baby/VPOU7DKTM3DJ

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE DONATION PAGE: https://www.tilt.com/campaigns/doula-programming-safe-birth-kits-in-honduras

Anyway. I’m also uncomfortable describing in a big public way the conditions that make these donations necessary, but I’d be happy to talk to you about it one-on-one. Suffice it to say that there are a lot of brave, rad, smart women giving birth to gorgeous, brilliant, deeply loved and celebrated babies under conditions that are totally unfair to everyone involved. Not for lack of trying on the part of families, communities, and medical staff, but because our global health system wages a war on the poor.

Paul Farmer says that, in order to implement good care, one needs Stuff, Space, and Staff.   There‘s not much I can do to help with Space, because I am only one woman, and that woman is neither an architect, nor a construction worker. But! The other two are indeed within my purview.

STUFF: Any donations I collect will help offset the awful dearth of necessary Stuff in hospitals and at home births in Honduras. This lack of stuff is an obstacle to birth safety in every way, both emotionally and physically.

As far as STAFF goes, I’m really excited about this part: this time around I’ll be working with Dar la Luz Honduras (a group I’ve been associated with for about six years now) to help establish volunteer doula programs at public hospitals in the major cities of San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa. I’m also hoping to offer free doula training to women from those cities who want to volunteer their time as doulas.

It worked great to make an Amazon Registry and let people choose what they wanted to give, so I’m doing that again.  I’ve included stuff that will allow me to make donations in three categories.

-To create safe birth kits for midwives who deliver women at home. Most of the stuff in these birth kits is devoted to preventing umbilical tetnus and other neonatal infections (still the leading killer of babies worldwide).  I’d also love to bring some fetoscopes and pinards for hearing babies’ heartbeats, as those are tough to find in Honduras.

-To create doula kits for the women I’ll be training in Honduras.  A doula’s main present is her presence, but having a few specific, cheap supplies on hand makes things easier. I also remember putting together my first doula kit, and how having official supplies made me feel so capable and rad.

-To stock hospitals with educations (and safety) supplies that will keep doula programs running in the longterm.

If you want any more info about specific stuff I’ve registered for, just ask! If you’d like to give money instead, that’s awesome as well.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE AMAZON REGISTRY: http://www.amazon.com/registry/baby/VPOU7DKTM3DJ

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE DONATION PAGE: https://www.tilt.com/campaigns/doula-programming-safe-birth-kits-in-honduras

If you’re anything like me, you have some questions. With help from my relentless internal monologue, I’ve concocted a little FAQ covering some of the issues, both practical and philosophical, which might come up. Please enjoy this navalgazing!

What are you going to do on this trip?

This time around I’ll be working with Dar la Luz Honduras (a group I’ve been associated with for about six years now) to help establish volunteer doula programs at public hospitals in the major cities of San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa. I’m also hoping to offer free doula training to women from those cities who want to volunteer their time as doulas. I’ll also attend some births because I love it. And I’ll hold all the babies because babies. And I’ll eat balleadas because delicious.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to give money to people already in-country who can provide the same services rather than traveling all the way down there (and the etc, etc, etc, the whole package of questions and considerations that fall under that umbrella)?

Maybe. In most cases, YES. But in this case, there really aren’t that many doulas in Honduras (YET). I’m connecting up with the awesome Red de Doulas Latinoamerica y Caribe to stay abreast (…) of how things evolve. I’m really excited about the possibility of training Honduran doulas and rendering myself obsolete, but for now that’s not what’s up. The work I do as a doula is different from the work that the awesome Honduras doctors and nurses do, and I know it helps women and children, because they tell me it does, and I can see that it does. So off I go.

Why go to Honduras (again)?

Because, due to a confluence of circumstances dictated mostly by chance, it feels kind of like a second home. And I speak the language, and am connected to an infrastructure that allows me to do the work that I want, as well as a safety-net of supportive folks who have my back. But mostly because I want to.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to offer your doula services to women and children that might not otherwise have access in your own home community?

I’m working on that! As it is, in almost a decade of practice, I’ve never turned down a client for lack of ability to pay, so that’s a start.

How do feel about asking your friends and family for money/donations?

Kind of icky. But most of ya’ll have assured me it’s ok to do, especially given my promise that none of the money or goods donated will be used for my personal travel expenses or doula practice. I pay my own way, all the way.  Plus, my community seems to want to be involved. Beyond that, I trust ya’lls powers of discernment enough to know you’ll only give if it’s right for you.

Why shouldn’t I just donate to a bigger, better established effort?

You should! I love Medecins Sin Frontiers and Partners in Health for their incredible results, their transparency, and their deep thoughtfulness.

Why shouldn't I just donate to an organization in my own community?

You should! DC-wise, I love Centro Nia, Mary’s Center, and the DC Diaper Bank for the their wide-reaching support of all kinds of families.

Finally! Here’s some reading that might help you orient yourself to these issues, if you so desire.

Info on Clean Birth Kits: http://www.mhtf.org/clean-birth-kits/

Info on Maternal and Neonatal Death and Illness: http://www.who.int/pmnch/media/press_materials/fs/fs_newborndealth_illness/en/

Info on infection control from Paul Farmer (focuses on Ebola, but contains incredible wisdom overall): http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n20/paul-farmer/diary

Info on Doulas: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-de-Doulas-de-Latinoamerica-y-Caribe/163402407037631,

One more time,

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE AMAZON REGISTRY: http://www.amazon.com/registry/baby/VPOU7DKTM3DJ

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE DONATION PAGE: https://www.tilt.com/campaigns/doula-programming-safe-birth-kits-in-honduras

I appreciate your being so thoughtful. I appreciate your being part of my community. You are rad.

Love,

Anna