2020 Year in Review

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: this has certainly been a year to remember! Despite the many hardships, 2020 had a lot to offer. At Lifecycle WomanCare, we have many wonderful moments to look back on. Here are just a few:

Kate McHugh, CNM became LWC’s 7^th Executive Director. Kate began serving as LWC’s Interim Executive Director in December 2019 and transitioned to the role of full time Executive Director early in 2020.

In 2020, we initiated an option of elective hospital birth at Bryn Mawr Hospital. This gives clients the pre-planned option of midwifery-care in the hospital with anesthesia and an extended stay.

In January, we had the honor of speaking at Interboro High School’s Female Empowerment Seminar. During our workshop, we facilitated a group discussion with middle and high school aged students helping them to understand their menstrual cycles, what to expect when they go to the gynecologist for the first time, birth control options, childbirth, and answering questions they may not have felt comfortable asking elsewhere.

In February, we had our yearly Go Red for Women celebration to raise awareness for heart disease. In addition, we gave each new baby born in February a hand-knit red hat. The hats are donated each year by a local family who lost their son and brother to an undetected heart condition. The hats help his legacy live on and raise awareness in his honor.

At the end of February, we had the privilege of sponsoring (and attending!) Maternity Care Coalition’s annual Celebrating Mother’s Brunch. It was an honor to celebrate MCC and support the necessary services they have been providing mothers in our community for the last 40 years. Here’s to many more!

In the spring, we received a LOVE Award from Main Line Parent for Best Women’s Healthcare. Thank you to everyone who voted and sent testimonials. We are truly grateful!

In March, we welcomed milestone baby number 13,000. Autumn Nelson, CNM was the lucky midwife in attendance to support parents Briggette and David as they welcomed their baby into the world. The family received a basket full of surprises courtesy of LWC’s Board of Directors.

Our staff creatively responded to lockdown mandates. In addition to changing our schedule and creating policies to ensure the health and safety of our staff and clients, we added telehealth options for prenatal, gynecological, postpartum, and lactation appointments and our education team adapted our hands-on childbirth education curriculum into an engaging virtual curriculum.

Extended family members found creative ways to say “happy birth-day” to their newest members during the pandemic, sometimes hosting small welcome parties in the LWC parking lot (and catching a glimpse of the new baby through the window).

The LWC community responded in a big way when we asked for assistance sourcing personal protective equipment early in the pandemic. Thank you to everyone who sent masks, face shields, ear protectors, and more!

In October, we were excited to sponsor Philly Family Pride’s virtual Family Matters Conference for the second year in a row. The conference offered programming for LGBTQ+ parents, prospective parents, and grandparents.

We also celebrated a record number of lactation visits in October. Thank you to our dedicated lactation team!

Thank you to everyone who helped us overcome this year’s hardships and gave us so much to celebrate.