“If a community values it’s children, it must cherish their parents.” – John Bowlby
About Us
Our mission is to grow strong, empowered families by providing support groups and educational services for pregnancy, birth and beyond.
By focusing on the family as a system and providing access to evidence-based resources and holistic care, we will support healthy, informed, confident families. Like a willow tree, our center will provide a calming atmosphere to grow strong, flourishing families that support each other.
We envision a central place where families can gather from the moment they find out they are expecting.
These growing families will find every resource available to them about pregnancy, birth, and beyond under one roof. Families from diverse backgrounds will join together to create one support community. Regardless of where they come from, these families will find evidence-based resources and holistic care that will better their quality of life. Just as the tree has roots, trunk, and leaves working together, our center will recognize the intricate interactions within the family system. And just as the tree lives in harmony with birds, grass, and nature, our center will support the interdependence that exist between families and society. Through our work to make evidence-based and holistic resources and care available to ALL families regardless of race, ethnicity, belief system, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status, our center will make the wisdom, strength, and serenity attributed to the willow tree available to the entire community.
Our Values
We value pregnancy and birth as a normal and natural event in human development.
We value the birth experience. We believe that the experience of birth sets the stage for bonding and attachment between the mother and the baby. We believe that pregnancy and birth is a critical period of transition for a family and each family needs special care and unique support during this time.
We believe in the use of best practices and evidence-based maternity care. We endorse the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative (an Initiative of the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services). This initiative promotes the Midwifery Model of Care and breastfeeding as optimal for mothers and babies with the goal of improving outcomes for mothers and babies (lowering maternal death rates and infant mortality rates) as well as lowering maternity health care costs.
We value education and informed consent. Women have the right to determine their own standard of care during pregnancy, childbirth, and beyond. By providing women with evidence-based information, we equip families with the tools they need to take personal responsibility over their maternity and health care and encourage women to make fully informed choices.
We believe that knowledge is power. Education is the key to overcoming all obstacles from obesity to poverty. Education allows people to become the best that they can be -- it is the key to opportunity and success.
We value diversity in lifestyle choices. There is no one right answer that will fit every woman, every family, and every situation. We acknowledge the value in traditional and alternative health care, as well as traditional and natural family living methods. We encourage preventative action, holistic approaches, and environmentally-friendly practices. We offer resources and support to families as they make choices that involve health promotion, nutrition, parenting, and child care.
We value the family as a system. When something happens to one member of a system, it in turn affects all others. Pregnancy and childbirth are essential times of transition for the entire family. Promoting the health and wellness of one member of the family improves the well-being of all; and promoting the health and wellness of all members of the family in turn improves the well-being of each person individually. Specifically, we believe the mother and baby are one cohesive and interdependent unit and must be treated as such. Additionally, these family systems operate within a much larger context, and the systems of health care, education, and social services which directly influence the family must work in harmony in order to achieve the most successful results.
We believe that early childhood development is the most rapid period of development in human life, and the experiences children have from birth to age 8 are critical in developing their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive health. Brain development is at its highest pace before a child ever enters the school system. Healthy attachment and early experiences as an infant significantly impact one’s health, education, and economic standing later in life. By supporting the entire family, we are supporting the success of the child. Investing in children early on is the most cost-effective way to create a productive, successful society.
We value community. We believe in supporting each other. We believe in treating each other with honesty and integrity. We believe in listening with open hearts and non-judgmental ears and looking at one another with empathetic eyes. We hold each other up, so that we will have a strong community of like-minded families, who can grow, learn and flourish together.
