I am really grateful for the support I received through Flourish Fund. It has given me access to resources in my neighborhood which makes me feel more comfortable, educated, supported, and confident about pregnancy and birth. My experiences with the doula, birthing classes, and yoga gave me more self-confidence and a sense of community. I am so excited to continue my journey with Flourish Fund through birth and postpartum!

Before we got pregnant, I had never really given much thought to the details of pregnancy and childbirth, let alone postpartum. Once we found out my wife was pregnant, she realized it was important to her that I learn with her. I discovered I hadn’t appreciated the number of decisions that every parent has to make during pregnancy, during the birth, and once the child is born. We invested in Flourish Fund to connect with and hire a doula to provide us with resources, information, connection and logistics in addition to support during the birth. I’ve come to realize that there will no doubt be surprises when the baby arrives and after, but there is a lot you can do beforehand to prepare and make the entire experience exponentially better for everyone, especially the mom.

As a postpartum doula I am always looking for ways to grow my business and help support moms in my local community. Flourish Fund not only connected me with new and expecting moms who had dedicated funds to be used on the doula services I offer but it also helped me connect with top providers in the network for referrals and continued education as a birth worker. I am so grateful for this community within a community and I hope all moms receive a Flourish Fund.

After a complicated delivery, I took control of my postpartum recovery by finding local specialists in postpartum pelvic floor care. Finding this care plus the local support groups with other moms who had gone through similar experiences made all the difference in my recovery. While it took over 10 months to start feeling like myself again, I am back to practicing yoga which I never thought would be possible.

Pregnancy, delivery, nursing and caring for two immediately after Maddie was born was tough on my body and I ended up having a lot of aches and pains. Luckily, I found a local massage therapist who specialized in postpartum massage therapy. I have been to many massage therapists but never felt so relaxed and rejuvenated since she knew exactly what I needed!