One local company is celebrating its one year birthday so you can celebrate all the birthdays that may come your way.
Mountain Momma Collective (MMC) is one year old today and has been supporting expectant mothers in the Barrie, Blue Mountain and Owen Sound area diligently all that time. Within the last year, the MMC has grown from being some singular entrepreneurs to a great team of helpful supporters for those in the region who need it. Kat Ennis is one of the co-founders of the MMC and says that because of what they do, it is vital that they work together.
“A doula is someone who provides emotional, informational and physical support to women and their partners during labour and birth, prenatally and in the immediate post-partum period,” said Ennis. “I was a teacher at an all-boys school and then ran my own doula business independently; but it was amazing to be able to come together with the Mountain Momma team and have the ability to reach more people. We all also have kids and families and know first-hand that you can’t do it all by yourself and to support our clients properly sometimes we ourselves need support. We also have about 10 employees that work for us in doula, photography and some classes as well; it’s really helping not only the community but us as a group too.”
The team is made up of women from different backgrounds that are able to provide support to the company’s clients in many different ways. While some may feel like the birthing process has been happening forever and a company like MMC isn’t needed, there are some stats to prove otherwise. For those who obtain the services of a doula, there is a 34 per cent decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with their birth experience, 28 per cent decrease in the risk of c-section, 14 per cent decrease in the risk of newborns being admitted to a special care nursery and 9 per cent decrease in the use of any medications for pain relief. Ennis knows that being a doula can be trying, but that a healthy birth makes it all worth it.
“We go on call at 37 weeks which means it doesn’t matter what time of day we get called, we go,” said Ennis. “We support them throughout the birth, whether that’s five hours or 36 hours, and then continuously until about three hours after birth. It is very hard at times, especially when you yourself are tired. But once you spring into action and know that you’re going to make a difference in a new mom’s life, it just becomes all you want to do."
Travelling far distances by horse and carriage may be the image one has of a doula or midwife, but in today’s day and age, getting the support needed is just a click away. In charge of MMC’s online mandate is another co-founder and CBO Amy Finn who says that social media is crucial to what they do.
“Online is huge now and it’s very big for us and has allowed us to reach moms everywhere,” said Finn. “The Momma Village is our online way of getting moms together and we’ve got 1,400 in Simcoe County right now so it really enables us to give out lots of much needed support; as the old adage goes, it takes a village. We also have an online shop and some amazing Canadian and artisan handcrafted items, we do fitness classes and photography; pretty much any way we can help new parents we do it.”
The MMC is connected to the Barrie Midwives as well as some obstetricians who use their organization for breast-feeding and birthing educational purposes. With anywhere from 10 to 25 clients per month, MMC is quickly becoming a great way for parents to get ready for the biggest event of their lives.
“This is definitely a strong passion for all of us but it becomes way more than that once you get involved,” said Finn. “You could personally have several different clients throughout a month but you can’t help but care about each one; it is a really great feeling to be able to help new moms and see them through the uncertainty and emotions to the joy of a new baby.”
For more information on MMC, check out their website or on Facebook and Instagram at @mountainmommacollective
