The Wallaces have dubbed themselves the ‘official family’ of Community of Hope’s Family Health and Birth Center, and with good reason. Although they gave birth to their first daughter in January at FHBC, Mr. and Mrs. Wallace still find themselves visiting at least twice a week.
Upset by the impersonal care she received from her obstetrician during her first weeks of pregnancy, Mrs. Wallace began her search for a health center where she’d be able to receive holistic care from midwives.
Two days later, she and her husband attended their first class at FHBC and knew they had found the right place for their growing family. “I have always been more into natural alternatives than most of my friends, and I thought to myself, ‘There has to be another way to [give birth].’ Everything just fit when I came to FHBC.”
Two days after returning home from the birth center with her healthy baby girl, Mrs. Wallace discovered that her daughter had not been latching properly and was therefore not receiving adequate nourishment. That’s when the Wallaces truly felt the full support of FHBC’s staff and services.
The lactation specialist printed out a schedule for the Wallaces to attend FHBC’s daily latch clinic. “My husband and I would wake up, eat breakfast and come to FHBC for four hours. It got to a point where we would take naps and eat our lunches here! We came every day until we figured out what was wrong,”
After receiving consistently compassionate, patient and holistic care, the Wallaces have found a unique sense of community at FHBC that has been life changing, especially for Mrs. Wallace. She began volunteering in the FHBC garden shortly after the birth of her daughter in January and continues to do so three days a week. Although the garden at the birth center was her first introduction to gardening, she has started her own balcony garden and now frequently volunteers at a local farm.
Mr. Wallace also does his fair share of FHBC volunteer work by leading bi-weekly staff fitness classes and the occasional “Daddy Boot Camp” pre-natal course, which informs soon-to-be fathers what to expect once their child is born.
The Wallaces say that they’re grateful – grateful for the staff that not only helped bring their daughter into this world, but who supported their new family when challenges persisted after birth. The Wallaces have found the compassionate, personal, and holistic healthcare they desired, making the moniker ‘the official family’ of FHBC all the more fitting.
