PRESS CONTACT: Kara Dress, 202-367-2434, marketing@lamaze.org
ALL OTHER INQUIRIES: 800-368-4404; info@lamaze.org
WASHINGTON (February 25, 2008)—The Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth recently announced the recipients of their 2008 grants for the development and expansion of Birth Networks in local communities. The institute reviewed 24 applicants before choosing 11 recipients from across the country to receive the grants, ranging from $300 to $1,000 each.
The Birth Care Network in Kentucky.; BirthNetwork of Northwest Arkansas; Birth Circle of Kirksville, Mo., Northland Birth Network in Minnesota; BirthNetwork National of Greater Hartford, Conn.; Central Oklahoma Birth Network; Albuquerque Birth Network in New Mexico; the Vermont Birth Network LLC; BirthNet of the Finger Lakes in New York, Regroupement Naissance-Renaissance in Montreal, Canada; and BirthNetwork National in Michigan will receive funding from the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth this year.
The Birth Network Mini-Grant Initiative, formed in 2003 by the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth, is designed to support the start-up or expansion of community based-Birth Networks. These grassroots organizations consist of parents, professionals and health care providers who offer support, education and evidence-based information on normal birth for parents and caregivers. In the last several years, Birth Networks have formed independently in at least 30 U.S. states, as well as Canada and Australia.
In 2008, the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth gave priority to projects that work toward improving public reporting and transparency in maternity care at the community level. For additional information on this topic, download the fact sheet entitled, “Why Transparency in Maternity Care Matters.”
Lamaze hopes its Birth Network Mini-Grant Initiative will serve to promote the Six Care Practices that Support Normal Birth adapted from the World Health Organization that support normal birth and will help counter the increase in unnecessary inductions, cesareans and maternal morbidity.
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About Lamaze International
Since its founding in 1960, Lamaze International has worked to promote, support and protect normal birth through education and advocacy through the dedicated efforts of professional childbirth educators, providers and parents. An international organization with regional, state and area affiliates, its members and volunteer leaders include childbirth educators, nurses, midwives, doulas, lactation consultants, physicians, students and consumers. For more information about Lamaze International and the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth, visit www.lamaze.org.
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