The Birth Attendants
PO Box 12258, Olympia, Washington 98508
BIRTH ATTENDANTS HISTORY
The Birth Attendants is a Non-Profit Organization based in Olympia, Washington
that provides reproductive health education, birth support, resources and
advocacy to pregnant and post-partum women who are incarcerated at the WCCW. We began in 2002, when an Evergreen student, Joanna Jeck, was inspired by a button that she saw that said, “No More Mothers In Prison”. She researched this, found that women who are incarcerated receive little, and very inadequate health care, and no birth support. She put a call out to the birthing community for volunteer doulas willing to go to the prison to provide birth support and education. Now, almost 8 years later, we work inside the prison every Friday providing two classes, Reproductive Health Education to the entire population at receiving, and Birth Support Class, supporting mothers that are pregnant and post-partum.
*Our Community Outreach Projects link our vital work inside prisons to the greater issues surrounding incarceration and works toward creating pathways of knowledge for western Washington communities about incarceration and its effects.