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Natural Awakenings Westchester / Putnam / Dutchess New York

Birth Network Supports Hudson Valley Parents: A consortium of professionals who work with women and families around pregnancy, birth, postpartum and parenting.

When Julietta Appleton cofounded the Childbirth Education Association in 1979, few people in the Hudson Valley knew what a doula was. Some 40 years later, thanks in part to the association’s efforts, many expectant parents in the Hudson Valley hire doulas—and take advantage of the variety of other healthcare professionals and services that support families before, during and after childbirth.

Appleton is now secretary of the board of the organization she helped launch. Renamed Hudson Valley Birth Network, it is a consortium of professionals who work with women and families around pregnancy, birth, postpartum and parenting. It provides its members with opportunities for networking, mentoring, education, advocacy, support, access to resources and professional enrichment. It also provides mothers-to-be and their families with information, resources, education, support, access to healthcare professionals, advocacy and community. 

“Where we were once a small group of childbirth educators, we’re now nearly 100 birth professionals who offer so many things—psychotherapy, body work, midwifery, lactation consulting, parenting advice, childbirth education and, of course, doula services,” Appleton says.

For more info, visit HudsonValleyBirthNetwork.com.