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Childbirth experts Trish Beckman and Ruth MacNair are rearing a new baby — their business, which brings a variety of women’s health services together under one roof. Last week the business partners opened the Women’s Wellness and Education Center in a small house off Charlotte Street.

“This process has been a lot like giving birth for us,” said MacNair, 45, a mother of five and a certified massage therapist specializing in pregnancy and infertility.

The center offers a variety of classes and services for women at all stages of life, from adolescence to pregnancy to birth to the postpartum months to menopause.

“Our goal is supporting women through the spectrum of issues that aren’t being addressed elsewhere,” said Beckman, 44, a certified nurse midwife.

The idea for the business sprang from Beckman’s experiences talking to new mothers who struggled during the postpartum months.

“The way our medical care is structured, we see mothers six weeks after birth and that’s it. Yet there is this huge need for women to tell their stories,” she said.

Beckman, who once worked full-time at New Dawn Midwifery, now works 24 hours a week as a bilingual midwife in Hickory. That has freed up time for the new venture.

The center consists of a community room and several offices, which will be occupied by wellness providers including massage therapists, trauma and postpartum therapists, a birth doula and an acupuncturist.

In addition to childbirth classes, the center will offer yoga, Pilates, breastfeeding support and “Mama Time,” a mother/baby class. Future classes will include aromatherapy, creative writing and a mother/daughter group. Despite the center’s name, men are welcome, particularly in the childbirth education classes and a future dads’ group.

“By removing the isolation and discussing pertinent topics of interest, new mothers can navigate the highs and lows of motherhood in a way that empowers them,” Beckman said.

Some of the postpartum support service costs are covered by a grant, enabling women to see a counselor regardless of ability to pay.

Beckman and MacNair met at a women’s conference just over two years ago. When Beckman told her new friend about her business idea, MacNair, a newly single stay-at-home mom, said, “I want to help you with that.”

Beckman and MacNair spent two years looking for the right location, and finally found it in a house built in 1916. They received business support from Adrianne Gordon of the Small Business & Technology Development Center and Russ Yelton of Asheville-Buncombe Technical College’s Small Business Center/Incubator.

“The resources in this town for starting a business are incredible,” Beckman said.

The two think their services can work hand-in-hand with the local medical community.

“We already see lots of couples in this Asheville quandary where they have a traditional doctor and plan to give birth in a traditional hospital, yet they want information about how to integrate holistic methods into their birth experience,” Beckman said.

Anne-Monique Ramsdell, mother of an 11-month-old, attended both the childbirth education and “Mama Time” classes.

“Having two people with different backgrounds teaching the birthing class was great. Laura helped with comfort strategies around giving birth, and Trish explained all the medical information around the experience,” she said.

“Having everything happen in one place instead of all around town sounds wonderful,” Ramsdell added.The grand opening of The Women’s Wellness and Education Center will be 1-5 p.m. Feb. 14.

“It’s been an exciting journey, and we’re only at the beginning of it,” Beckman said.

Source: Asheville Citizen Times