The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #74361

Jean Ewan, CNM, MPH, Catherine Walker, CNM, MPH, Julie Motl-Santiago, CNM, MPH, and Suzanne Winder, BA. Nurse-Midwifery Program, Boston Medical Center, 1 Boston Medical Center Place, Dowling 321 S, Boston, MA 02118

In order to provide culturally competent and comprehensive maternity care to all women who deliver at Boston Medical Center (BMC.), the BMC Birth Sisters sm Program was started. Birth Sisters sm are community women that provide social support to their clients through pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum. BMC is a tertiary care center and safety net hospital for the communities of Boston. Many of the women that we serve have the following social risk factors: recent immigration, poverty, homelessness, domestic violence, social isolation and adolescence. The model for the program was developed by Urban Midwife Associates, an affiliate of BMC. The program began in January of 1999 and was developed to enhance the services already offered by the hospital’s physicians and nurse-midwives. The Birth Sisters sm, most of whom are bilingual, come from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. They are recruited from the community that BMC serves and thus reflect that community. They are provided with free training in childbirth education, labor and birth support techniques, breastfeeding education and support measures, and in community resources. The role of the Birth Sister sm is to provide social support to the clients which are referred to them. They go to prenatal visits with their clients, accompany them in the hospital during labor and birth, provide breastfeeding support and give postpartum support in the home. The Birth Sisters sm Program has grown dramatically over the last four years and currently attends 20% of all the births at BMC. In 2002, 95% of the Birth Sister sm clients came to their births intending to breastfeed (as opposed to 75% of unattended women). 74% of their clients breastfed within one hour of birth (as opposed to 26% for unattended births). And 69% of their clients were still breastfeeding at 2 weeks postpartum.

Learning Objectives:

• Have enhanced understanding of the history of labor support.
• Have enhanced understanding of the components of social support in pregnancy, birth, postpartum, breastfeeding and parenting.
• Be able to define the benefits of social support in pregnancy, birth, postpartum, breastfeeding and parenting.
• Be able to define the benefits of breastfeeding to the family and the community.
• Be able to decribe the history and development of the Birth Sisters sm Model.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.