BengalNews Reporters
The workshop topic was pregnancy and how the body nourishes a baby. Eileen Stewart, a certified nurse midwife, brought the lecture to life with the opportunity to see a freshly delivered placenta. While most chose to simply observe, Martha Gach reached out and touched.
Gach, a Somali refugee, participated in a doula workshop with women from various cultures. Doulas provide continuous physical, emotional and informational support to mothers before, during and just after birth. The workshop was taught by Stewart, who is also president of Life Cycles Center Inc., a non-profit organization that provides educational programs on natural cycles of life.The workshop is a collaboration between Life Cycles Center and Priscilla Project, a mentoring program for pregnant refugee women located on the west side on 184 Barton St. The two organizations teamed up in effort to help refugee women maintain their cultural norm during childbirth, Stewart said. As a midwife with admitting privileges for Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, Stewart has helped facilitate the relationship between Priscilla Project and the hospital, she said.
While Priscilla Project has trained people to serve as mentors and doulas for pregnant refugee women before, the volunteers are usually American, Roseanne Schuster, birthing coordinator for Priscilla Project, said.
“Looking at the larger picture with transferring community ownership, it would be better to have a sister from your own country to be there with you, especially if family can’t be there or if the woman would like some extra support,” Schuster said.
Women participating in the workshop are all refugees who have interest in learning more about pregnancy, labor and postpartum care, so they can take the information and help other refugees from their native land. Many of these women already have served as interpreters with the Priscilla Project, Nicole Hitchcock, the project coordinator, said.
“A lot of women in my community are pregnant. I want to share with them,” Lay Lay, a Burmese woman participating in the workshop, said. “Most people don’t speak any English. They’re afraid of the nurses. They don’t know how to fight back.”
Stewart sees this project as benefiting women of all cultures, including Caucasians. Stewart said she’s been working for women’s birthing rights for a long time now, and having Priscilla Project doulas in the hospital will become a part of that mission. By having the cultures mingle, everybody will win, she said.
“Some people may feel negatively about how many refugee people are here and I think what an advantage the women here in our community might have by this interaction of these women in our hospitals,” Stewart said.
Hitchcock said a lot of work has been done to get the program where it is today. She said especially after this doula workshop her team feels like they’re in a comfortable place to serve women holistically throughout their pregnancies. Keeping the momentum going through awareness of the project is something the team continually works on. Two events they have planned geared towards awareness and fundraising are coming up in May, she said.
A Mother’s Day tea is scheduled on May 3 at Sweetness 7 Café, 220 Grant St. and an art festival that focuses on women and motherhood in art is on May 8 at Shakti yoga, 133 Grant St.
A temporary organ created by a woman’s body during pregnancy, the placenta serves as a “trading post between the mother’s and the baby’s blood supply.” Though many may not give extra thought to the placenta, it’s worth taking a moment to consider its value.
ReplyDeleteThe placenta helps nourish the fetus, transferring oxygen and nutrients to the baby while removing waste products. It’s rich in blood vessels, yet no blood can cross from the mother to the fetus. The placenta is formed to support the fetus, and is expelled after birth.
What happens then varies. If in the hospital, the afterbirth is probably thrown in the trash or sold to a cosmetics company. Some women ask to keep it, and depending on hospital protocol their request might be honored. Some women birth at home, where they do what they want with the placenta.
So why would someone want to keep it in the first place? Many cultures believe the placenta holds a special bond with the child. Keeping the organ close to the child, perhaps buried in the yard, is one way to honor that bond. In some cultures the placenta is even ingested for nutritional purposes.
Another option is creating art with the placenta. A print can be made on thick paper that looks remarkably like a tree due to the blood vessels. Some call it the “tree of life”.
--Shrell Krawczyk
“Why Priscilla?” For those familiar with the New Testament, specifically the Book of Acts, this answer is fairly obvious - not for me. While their efforts throughout the local community are fairly well known, the historical meaning behind the “Priscilla Project” is not.
ReplyDeletePriscilla and her husband Aquila are one of the most poignant couples in the Bible. Mentioned seven times throughout, they were received as a power couple by their community; honored, loved, and sought after by many.
As individuals they too left an impression. As a woman of the Bible, Priscilla was a trailblazer, notably strong and influential. A refugee of Jewish heritage, she is known for her spirit. Women looked to Priscilla as a mentor; despite her new surroundings she created a home for herself and a community for others. Her love and knowledge broaden people’s horizons in an unforeseen way.
The “Priscilla Project” is an organization that not only helps women, but one that empowers them as well. As their namesake, Priscilla embodies everything these volunteers, mentors, and doulas stand for as individuals and serves as the glue that unites them as a community.
--Elizabeth Lewin