MAKE A DIFFERENCE: The Well addresses women's health

MAKE A DIFFERENCE: The Well addresses women's health
Have you heard of The Well? The wellness center is a new company in Kettering focused on removing the barriers to women's health care. This collective of providers and its nonprofit arm, The Giving Well Foundation, work together to offer all individuals, regardless of income, a whole-person, holistic approach to women's healthcare needs, especially during the reproductive years.

"This holistic approach is critical because barriers such as cost and fear of concerns being dismissed keep one in four United States women from seeking necessary healthcare," says midwife, lactation consultant and founder April Kline.

The Giving Well Foundation provides a scholarship fund for services and education funded by private donations and grants. The providers at The Well also offer their own sliding scale fees and Medicaid eligibility which also helps remove financial barriers. Contributions from private donors are tax-deductible and immediately impactful, Kline says. "Donations help more people access necessary pregnancy and birth support, gynecology and well-woman exams, pelvic floor physical therapy, lactation consultations, holistic mental health care, massage, reflexology, and more."

Frequent workshops on advancing women's and families' well-being take place along with free new-parent circles, nutrition classes, and weekly tai chi and prenatal yoga sessions. A wide range of support groups help people from all backgrounds explore topics of fertility, parenting, mental health, and more, offered primarily from The Well's home base near Kettering's Town and Country shopping center. All of these offerings are available at reduced cost or free to eligible individuals.

The Giving Well Foundation also collects and distributes health and baby care supplies, resources, and meal support for women and families throughout the Miami Valley through their partnership with The Well.

A separate scholarship fund is earmarked to help Black, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized people access training to become doulas (birth supporters), lactation specialists, and other holistic providers throughout the Miami Valley. According to Kline, studies show that Black mothers are up to four times more likely than white mothers to die in childbirth, and their children are 2 1/2 times more likely to die within their first year.

"As traditional communities of intergenerational support and knowledge continue to vanish, safe, whole-person care spaces where health care 'feels inviting rather than rushed or even dismissive" will only become more important,' Kline says.

One recent graduate, Jocquelene Pressley, is already bringing her skills as a midwife, CPR trainer, doula trainer and community health worker to the region. "The Well has been inspiring and supportive of me as a person, as a doula, and as a midwife," she says.

"We hear from our clients often that feeling isolated and uncared for are major contributors to their anxiety and depression," Kline says. "It is clear from the moment you walk through our pink front door, that you are an individual with individual needs, and that we want you here-in whatever condition you are in."

Here's what's needed: — Lactation supplies, i.e. breast pumps, nursing pads, milk storage bags, bottles, etc. — Menstruation supplies, i.e. period cups, pads, tampons — Pregnancy tests — Gift cards to Target, Walmart, Bye Bye Baby, Amazon, etc. — Cloth and disposable diapers — Baby wipes — Pacifiers of all shapes and sizes — New or gently used baby, toddler and child toys and books — New or gently used burp cloths, bibs and baby blankets — New or gently used glass jars and glass storage containers