June's Centre has a wonderful team of trained and experienced Labour Support Volunteers. They come from diverse backgrounds and are all dedicated to helping pregnant women at June's Centre have a positive birth experience.
Labour Support Volunteers do not take the place of family and friends. In fact, they can help support others to support you. Research shows that use of Labour Support significantly reduces the length of labour as well as decreasing medical interventions such as caesareans and forceps deliveries (Klaus, Kennel and Klaus, Mothering the Mother, 1993). The use of Labour Support has been strongly linked with mothers having a satisfying and successful breastfeeding relationship with their babies.
Before your delivery, Labour Support Volunteers offer you friendly, non-judgemental and reliable support. Meeting with you and your other support people before labour, they can give you time to ask questions, discuss your fears and hopes, make choices and develop a trusting relationship. They can go with you to prenatal classes, doctor's or midwife's appointments and hospital tours.
When you are in labour the Labour Support Volunteer can be with you throughout your labour, help you get to hospital, advocate for you with hospital staff to support your decisions and offer you emotional support and physical comfort.
After the birth, they can help with breast-feeding and newborn concerns.
How can you get Labour Support? Talk to your counsellor at June's Centre. They will match you with a woman who's right for you.
