A note from Dr. April…

In 2011, living far from my family support system, I found myself pregnant and exhausted, caring for my two preschool-age boys while navigating a tumultuous separation from their father. As I birthed Baby Maple into the dark Solstice morning, I had no idea how I’d “make it” with a newborn, two young boys, no job, and little resources. Maple’s biological father and I were still getting to know each other. I felt alone and scared. Then, I saw the flyer. A class at the local community college was being offered to help parents “manage stress” and create family life that “fit with parents’ unique values”. Little did I know, this program was grounded in an evidence-based treatment that has been shown to improve mental, emotional and physical health in hundreds of randomized trials. My new partner and I signed up. I remember the instructor’s words at the top of the class, the same words Birth Your Way families hear each class session, “Consider, that what you learn in this class could make a very real difference in your life.”

Today, I am a Clinical Psychologist and leading scientist in the field of perinatal contextual psychology, all while I enjoy my big, loving and connected extended and blended family. I am proof that the clinical science approach underlying Birth Your Way does indeed “make a very real difference,” and the impact reaches far beyond my personal life.

To date, our Birth Your Way team has provided free and low-cost prenatal health promotion services to thousands of low income birthing families, using the same clinical approach I received in my time of need. In the past decade, dozens of undergraduate University interns have participated in the intensive Birth Your Way health services training program, receiving expert supervision and professional mentorship. Upon graduation, interns use their intensive training and field experience to pursue their individual professional health promotion and research goals.

Randomized clinical trials conducted since 2013, indicate the Birth Your Way program reduces surgical births, NICU admissions, and premature and low birthweight deliveries for Medicaid families. Pregnant families learn to reduce prenatal stress and engage in healthy prenatal behaviors by aligning their everyday actions with their core personal values. The results don’t end in the delivery room. By intervening early in the prenatal period, program effects are magnified as birthing families are primed to create their own loving and connected families that promote lifelong health and well being for the whole family.