PBi-Trained Placenta Encapsulation Specialist®s, McKenzie Casad and Nicole Link-Troen spent their Mother’s Day Saturday in a unique way, surrounded by and educating new mothers! The pair of specialists from Washington, DC and Richmond, VA, respectively, teamed up at the Oh Mama! Yoga Birth & Baby Fair in Richmond, VA.
This expo was primarily a fundraiser in support of a wonderful organization, Midwives For Haiti.
“In Haiti, 76% of all deliveries are done by non-qualified persons, contributing to the highest infant and maternal mortality in the western hemisphere. 15% of newborns have low birth weight and 25% of the children suffer from chronic malnutrition. The World Health Organization has estimated that the things professional midwives know how to do – preventative prenatal care, handling complications of pregnancy and birth, and teaching nutrition –could totally change these statistics.
Midwives for Haiti was started by certified nurse-midwives who believe every woman in this world deserves the knowledge and care to have a safe pregnancy and birth. We also believe that even women who cannot read or write are teachable. With the right knowledge and tools, community women can make birth safer and keep babies and mothers from dying. We want to bridge the gap between the traditional birth attendants and the nurse-midwives trained in the medical model so that more women in Haiti have access to skilled care.”
~ www.midwivesforhaiti.org
Currently Midwives for Haiti provides funds to employ most of their graduates because non-profits and hospitals in Haiti who need them are often unable to provide a salary. Sponsoring a midwife to practice for one year, her salary, room and board, medications and supplies cost $10,000.
With the help of other local birth businesses, Placenta Benefits, along with the Oh Mama! Yoga Birth & Baby Fair helped raise $5,120 through individual donations, sponsorships, and ticket sales. This will enable Midwives For Haiti to fund a Haitian midwife for half a year.This will enable the Midwife to give prenatal care to approximately 60 women for month and deliver 10-20 babies each month. This generosity will help save the lives of many childbearing women and their babies in Haiti.
At the Expo, expectant mothers learned about Placenta Benefits for the first time. They were able to meet their local PBi-Trained Placenta Encapsulation Specialist®s, McKenzie and Nicole. And many of these smart mommas now plan on using their placentas for postpartum wellness!
The local resources for pregnant and postpartum women in the Richmond area were all well represented and a wealth of knowledge was shared with those mothers and mothers-to-be. The event was a great success overall both for the Midwives for Haiti campaign and the PBi-Trained Specialists who attended the expo.
“This was loads of fun! Already looking forward to next year!” ~ Nicole Link-Troen
Nice work ladies! Way to represent PBi and thank you for helping to make a difference to the mothers and children in Haiti!