Technology is not a replacement for mentors and intimate relationships
“We live in a time of dichotomy: technology both brings us together and makes us retreat from relationships; we strive to make money and be successful but we need mentors and intimate relationships; there are so many wonderful choices of things to get involved in and all those things make us exhausted and overwhelmed.” Betsy Ringer
During the fall of 2014 I conducted an online survey to learn what women want and need. I was gathering information for a project. I went into the process with some assumptions about health issues. Helping people live a healthier lifestyle is something that I enjoy. I thought the things that were obvious to me would be obvious to my survey respondents. I was wrong, or at least the things that I assumed would be at the top of their list of concerns were not. I wasn’t prepared for the reality of the needs women have.
The anonymous survey was given to women of the African Diaspora, using social media sites and mass emails. When I reviewed the findings with Betsy Ringer, iBloom You’re the Expert, Speak Like it instructor, she responded with the statement quoted above. I couldn’t have expressed it any better; Betsy hit the nail on the head.
I thought about her statement and my findings. After creating my 2015 life and business success plan I made a decision. I would
be proactive and design a space for women to have what they need: mentors and intimate relationships. My first stop, the childbearing year. I created the Online Birthing Class Community for women in the childbearing year.
The Online Birthing Class Community is a safe place for women to talk about pregnancy, birth, and becoming a mother; a place for building intimate relationships and mentoring. Here you will find tools, tips, resources, evidence based practices, and encouragement for the childbearing year. This group is for women enrolled in our Online Birthing Classes and others looking for a supportive community. Although we support every woman’s childbirth choices, we aim to educate women about normal physiologic birth and the midwifery model of care as the Gold Standard.
So, now that you know this service is available don’t keep it to yourself. Join if it speaks to you. Share it with expecting mothers. To be successful all mothers should have mentors and intimate relationships that provide encouragement, guidance, and build community.