An independent birth center has reopened in Asheville, ending a period of nearly two years without such a facility in Western North Carolina. Lilac Health Asheville Birth & Wellness Center is in the same location as Western North Carolina Birth Center, which closed in July 2021. The South French Broad Avenue birth center is staffed by […]
As many as 1-in-5 women experience mood changes or anxiety after experiencing trauma while giving birth, with roughly 9% being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Postpartum Support International.
Researchers found mothers reported increased anxiety about the uncertainty of travel, distant pregnancy care providers not being easily accessible and insufficient coordination among care providers.
When Wakina Robertson birthed her twins in Buncombe County 30 years ago, it was a harder experience than it should have been. The babies arrived nine weeks early. “I wasn’t listened to,” she tells Xpress. “Did I want to have my babies early? … If I could have pushed a little longer to carry them […]
A recent Tuesday afternoon at the Western North Carolina Birth Center was unusually quiet. The birthing rooms were empty. No laboring mothers paced the halls; no infants wailed. The staff arrived for work, but the mood was forlorn. July 20 marked the close of the WNC Birth Center, the only 24/7 midwifery option in Asheville. […]
When Emma Strickland learned she was pregnant with her second child, she started looking for an alternative to a hospital birth. She found it at the WNC Birth Center. The center is open during the COVID pandemic but has had to scale back on some of its related services. Ironically, that’s led to a shortage of income at a time when women like Strickland find themselves increasingly drawn to a birth center.
August is National Breast-feeding Month, and Asheville abounds with breast-feeding services for new and expectant mothers. Kimberly Rush, an Asheville lactation consultant, mentions some of the many resources: “We have La Leche League, breast-feeding support groups and many other ways to support and provide information.” Cheryl Orengo, director and educator at Start from Seed, notes that Mission […]
