Volunteers ease moms’ childbirth worries
Editor’s note: Due to a production problem, the jump text from the following story was missing in some editions of the Sunday paper. It is being published today in its entirety.
Even a dozen years couldn’t blur the trauma she experienced in childbirth.
“I had no idea what I was in for,” said Connie Canova, recalling the waves of pain that seemed to take on tsunami proportions. “When the first contraction hit, I thought I was going to die.”
But worse than the physical suffering, she said, was her mental anguish: Except for the hospital’s medical staff, Canova was alone.
The fear of childbirth gripped her again last year when she discovered she was pregnant with her second child. It subsided, however, when a complete stranger walked into her life and straight into her delivery room.
Last month, the Spokane mother gave birth to a healthy, 7-pound girl named Corynne Nevaeh. At her side throughout her labor and delivery was Angie Keith – a mother of four and a volunteer labor coach for Catholic Charities.
Every year, dozens of single, pregnant women like Canova turn to the nonprofit’s Childbirth and Parenting Alone program, which offers numerous services including labor support for mothers-to-be who would otherwise have no one with them.
“This woman was a godsend,” Canova said last week, sitting in her West Central apartment as she watched Keith rock her baby girl to sleep. “She was the answer to my prayer. It was nice to know that someone was there for me, no matter what.”
Until Corynne was born two days before Easter, Canova and Keith had only met in person once – over coffee at Starbucks when Canova was five months pregnant. Even though their interaction was limited to a few phone calls in the weeks before the birth, the two women still established a bond.
Canova, who works full time and didn’t get a chance to take childbirth preparation classes, remained nervous. But Keith, through her confident yet gentle demeanor, was able to win the other woman’s trust.
“Birth is an absolute miracle to me,” said Keith, who has been a volunteer labor coach for the past year. “It’s an empowering thing for women.”
“
Established about 10 years ago, Childbirth and Parenting Alone’s labor support program currently has six volunteers – women who have received training and have committed to helping during childbirth.
While being a mom is not a prerequisite, nearly all the volunteers over the years have been women who have given birth themselves. Some have been midwives and professional doulas. Others just want to offer their presence during such a life-changing moment, an unforgettable event in a woman’s life and often considered a rite of passage in many cultures.
Regardless of their background, the women who volunteer are all “in awe of birth,” said Sandy Maher, a mother of five and the facilitator of the labor support program. “Welcoming a child into the world is a spiritual experience.”
During training, Maher asks the volunteers to both comfort the mom and be her advocate, and to serve as a “recorder” – the person who retells the mother’s nativity story and celebrates the birth of her child.
Depending on the need, the volunteers are matched several times a year with single, pregnant women who might not have family in town or who have no one who can be with them in the delivery room.
Most are young, poor and live alone. A few relocated to Spokane to escape domestic violence. While some remain involved with the baby’s father, they’re not always comfortable having the dad as their sole support during childbirth.
The most complicated cases involve women who cannot keep their children because of drug abuse problems and other issues, or women who have to return to jail or prison soon after delivery. Often, they endure the pain of labor knowing that their newborn will soon be whisked away by Child Protective Services.
“Every woman deserves to be respected and loved on the day she gives birth, no matter who’s waiting outside the door, no matter what happens tomorrow,” said Heidi Conant, a labor support volunteer who is also a professional doula, or birth coach.
The work can often be heart-breaking, she acknowledged, but through these mothers Conant has also witnessed joy, hope and the possibility of transformation.
As a doula to these moms – some of whom are as young as 13 – it’s important to withhold judgment, listen to their stories and just help them be strong, said Dona Mohr of Spokane Valley, a volunteer for the past decade.
“I’ve become more open to loving people,” said Mohr, the director for religious education at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. “It doesn’t matter to me how they got pregnant. I just want to help them with birth. It’s still a holy experience.”
“
Unlike the young mothers giving birth for the first time, Canova, 38, knew what it was like to have and raise a child; her daughter Courtney is now a sixth-grader. But she still felt fear since the painful memories of her first birth continued to haunt her.
Keith, 28, assured Canova that she would be there for her, no matter what time of day or night, no matter how long the delivery lasted.
When she got the call at 5:30 a.m. on April 14, Keith immediately got dressed, told her husband to take care of the kids and raced from her Medical Lake home to Sacred Heart Medical Center.
Canova was relieved to see her. As the contractions got closer together and intensified, the volunteer doula held her hand and massaged her legs.
Then she put her face right up to Canova, looked her in the eye and told her to breathe.
“Stay focused,” she said in a calm, soft voice.
Less than an hour after Keith’s arrival, Canova – with one mighty, excruciating push – squeezed baby Corynne out into the world.
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Canova told Keith through tears.
Although she has helped at numerous births, Keith remained in awe of Canova and what she had accomplished.
“I am always amazed by the strength of women,” she said. “Each time I am present (at a birth), I feel honored to be part of such a beautiful, life-giving experience.”