Courtesy of Wikipedia
|
|
BirthNBeyond.Org, Cincinnati's Birth and Women's Health Network.
BirthNBeyond.Org is brought to you by what was formerly known as CincyBirth.Org, and Midwives Care.
Do you feel strongly about choices in health care? Are you concerned about the vanishing choices available to women in our area for the site of their birth, their birth attendant, and their well-woman care? The former Midwives Care has now become Birth and Beyond: Advocates for Woman Centered Health Care. We hope to find ways to educate women in Cincinnati (and beyond!) about the options they have when making choices about their birth and health, and about providers who can offer these options - as well as educating providers about safe options that SHOULD be available to women!
We invite anyone who has interest and passion around birth and women's
health to attend one of our meetings, meet our current board members and volunteers, and see if this organization would be a good fit for you!
Please see the Calendar of Events for our next Board Meeting.
Please let us know you'd like to attend by sending us an email
or by phoning 513-541-5999.
Get Involved!
Here's your chance to get involved! Birth & Beyond is composed of various committees
in which you can participate. Read on for info on each committee and how you can become part of the B&B Team!
Education Committee
Mission: To educate consumers, professionals and the community about evidence based healthcare, birth options, pregnancy and birth, parenting and well woman healthcare through the following activities:
- By providing information for women and their families regarding options throughout their childbearing year, as well as through their life changes from the onset of menstruation to menopause.
- By providing and supporting educational opportunities for health care and birth professionals.
- By distributing information to the community through health fairs and other related forums.
We anticipate the use of classes, workshops, articles, brochures, postings to the Birth & Beyond website, as well as other means to disseminate this information.
Education Committee:
For more information, or to participate in this committee, please email edcom@birthnbeyond.org
Health Care Policy Committee
Mission: Provide Knowledge about public policy that may impact healthcare in our community and at large.
Tenants:
- Facilitate access to policies and legislation that impact healthcare
- Establish guidelines for community work and activities that impact public policy
- Formulate and implement clear communication about the public policy as addressed by other communities
For more information, or to participate in this committee, please email hcpcom@birthnbeyond.org
Community Relations Committee
The Mission of the Community Relations Committee is to build an active
community that is supportive of Birth & Beyond: Advocates for Woman-Centered
Health Care.
Our purposes are:
- To develop and disseminate information about Birth & Beyond that is approved by Board of Directors.
- Encourage involvement in Birth & Beyond.
- Develop and support projects deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors of Birth & Beyond.
- Encouage coalition of groups and individuals interested in woman-centered health care.
For more information, or to participate in this committee, please email crcom@birthnbeyond.org
Mission Statement
The general purpose of the corporation shall be to advocate for woman centered health care that supports and provides options for women of all socioeconomic means and their families, through education, resource and referral, community relations and healthcare policy.
The specific purposes of the corporation shall be:
- To educate consumers, professionals, and the community about evidence based healthcare, birth options, pregnancy and birth, parenting and well woman healthcare.
- To impact healthcare policy that supports our mission.
- To provide referrals to community care providers who support woman centered healthcare.
- To function as a resource for individuals and groups regarding women's healthcare.
- To cultivate community by increasing awareness of women's healthcare options.
- To bring together diverse members of the community around a common commitment to quality women's healthcare and through that commitment increased access to health care for all residents of the community.
- To encourage women to improve the quality of their lives through active participation in their pregnancy, birth, parenting and healthcare experiences.
- To advocate for midwifery presence in all well woman settings and all birth sites.
Meet the Board...
Jackie Gruer, CNM, MSN, graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1982 and has been serving the greater Cincinnati area since she moved to Cincinnati in 1983. Jackie began attending home births in 1982 and also began attending hospital births in 1985. She is a founding mother of Midwives Care, Inc. which incorporated in 1986 and began The Birth Center in 1997. Midwives Care closed in April, 2006 after almost 20 years of incredible service to the community. Strong as the Phoenix, the end of Midwives Care has given rise to Birth & Beyond.
|
|
Leah Terhune,
CNM, MSN, graduated from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. in 1990. After 4 years as an Air Force Midwife, she went to Ghana, W. Africa, and worked as a staff midwife in a village hospital for 2 years. She then spent nine rewarding years with Midwives Care until its closure in 2006. She is now providing midwifery care to primarily low-income and uninsured women at various health clinics in Cincinnati through The University Hospital. Her son, Micah Sailer Terhune, was born at home in 1999 with Jackie’s assistance.
|
Gretchen Finniff is a woman's rights activist and natural childbirth advocate. She delivered both of her sons with Midwives Care in 2004 and 2006. With a strong connection with the process and experience of delivering naturally, she would like the experience to be available to all women who choose this path for themselves through education and exposure. Professionally, Gretchen works for U.S. Bank Metropolitan banking as a project manager. She is actively involved in the Development Network for the bank, which has allowed her to work closely with many of the areas nonprofit organizations. Previously, Gretchen was the President of the Board of Directors for the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition and was active in the climbing community locally and nationally for many years.
|
|
Wendy Dorn Bowden had her two sons with Midwives Care in 2001 and 2004 at Mercy Franciscan-Mt. Airy's MOM Center. She believes every woman should have the opportunity to experience the kind of personalized, caring treatment she had with both her pregnancies with the Midwives, as well as the option to deliver in hospital, birth center, or home. Wendy is a freelance stage manager and event manager, and has worked locally for Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Arts Association, and Cincinnati Ballet, as well as national tours and in Chicago. She is a member of the Education Committtee.
|
Rich Goldman has been webmaster from this site's birth in April 2006. Rich is the proud father of two children, both born without intervention, the second born at home in a birthing tub. Rich believes that birth should be treated as a natural process, not as a disease to be diagnosed and treated. Rich believes in the importance of the father's role in the birth setting, and hopes to help bring more dads into the birthing experience. Rich works during the day as an Engineer for GE Aviation.
|
|
Melissa Lewis is a SAHM to three, and wife to a computer nerd by day (from whom she she absorbs most of her technical knowledge, but wishes she could get more tech support!) . By night (mostly!) a Birth Doula who enjoys helping women have an empowering birth!
Melissa enjoys knitting/sewing, holding babies/kids, checking e-mail, and sleeping! oh i also enjoy providing counter pressure and double hip squeezes. Melissa dislikes doing dishes, picking up toys with lots of small pieces, cooking, cleaning, and c-sections!
|
Kate Romanello-Jones is the mother of 3 beautiful children. Eileen and Ewan were both birthed naturally with Midwives Care. Ella joined the family in a wonderful homebirth. Kate became active with this organization first as a birthing woman concerned about diminishing options to birth naturally and normally in this area. As she has started her career as a Bradley childbirth educator her passion for these issues has only grown.
|
|
Eileen Ryan has been involved in birth advocacy since becoming a La Leche League Leader in 1979. She spent 20 years as a Childbirth Educator and has been a birth doula since 1983, as well as a post-partum doula since 1998, and still an active La Leche League Leader. Married to Rob for 34 years and the mother of 4 grown children, she remains committed to supporting women's choices during their birthing year.
|
Heather Schwantes lorem ipsum super calla fraga listic expi alla docious
|
|
Vanessa Wernicke has been a member of the board since 2005. She is an attorney with Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, focusing mainly on estate planning and helping tax-exempt organizations. Born at the Maternity Center, a freestanding birth center in New York, Vanessa credits her interest and trust in natural birth to her mother's influence. Vanessa lives in Wyoming with her husband, Todd, and their children, Sofia and Henry.
|
|
|
|
|
For more information, or to contact the Birth & Beyond board members, please email board@birthnbeyond.org
| |
|
SM - About Us
post to del.icio.us