crcgrenada

Childbirth Resource Center of Grenada - Birth Doula Services in Washington State

Women Helping Women - Mothering the Mother

Heather Struckman received her BA in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College and her MSW from the University of Washington. She attended Birth Doula Training at the Seattle Midwifery School and certified through PALS. Her work experience was at Catholic Community Services in Seattle in both the Pregnancy Support Services Program and at Harrington House, a shelter for homeless pregnant and newly parenting women and their children. She also received her perinatal social work training and subsequently worked at the University of Washington Medical Center as part of the Dept. of Social Work's Women and Children's team. As a Birth Doula, Heather has supported women in labor and delivery at many of the Seattle area hospitals.

Contact Information:

Phone: 503-705-1503

heatherdoula@gmail.com

The Childbirth Resource Center of Grenada served pregnant and newly parenting women and teens in 2008 and 2009.

For two years, The Childbirth Resource Center of Grenada proved to be a valuable resource for the women of Grenada, both as an outreach program and then as a two-room center in the heart of downtown St. Georges. This program served to fill the gap in services that were available to the women there by offering education, resources and support. Coordinator, Heather Struckman has worked in the field of Pregnancy and Childbirth for over nine years. Her personal commitment has always been to serve women and teens who are faced with challenges such as...

limited family and/or social support.
high risk pregnancy
trauma from a previous birth, loss or sexual assault.
personal financial hardship.

The Childbirth Resource Center held to this same commitment. Therefore, regardless of a woman's ability to pay, women accessed a variety of services, including:

Childbirth preparation classes
Lending Library
Birth Counseling
Labor support
Lactation support with telephone hot-line
Workshops on Healthy Pregnancy, Breastfeeding & Parenting
Support groups around issues concerning lactation, postpartum depression, grief & loss and domestic violence
Referrals to conventional and alternative birthing professionals

A goal that was not reached was being able to offer:

Trainings for women in Grenada who are interested in pursuing a career as a...

Childbirth Educator
Birth Doula or Post Partum Doula
Lactation Consultant

With the help of generous individuals and entities from various countries, the program was able to provide much needed services, free of charge, to women. Their feedback indicated that they felt supported during pregnancy, early labor and breast feeding. And that they were given the encouragement they needed to embrace motherhood!

Heather is back in the states, continuing her work as a Birth Doula. She believes in the philosophy of "A Doula for Every Woman Who Wants One."

Please click below to make a donation if you are interested in helping Heather to continue to offer free services to low income women in Western Washington: