Minnesota Prison Doula Project

At the end of each year, the Lifecycle WomanCare staff comes together to engage in an act of philanthropic giving. In 2018, we opted to compile a charitable group gift in support of the Minnesota Prison Doula Project (MnPDP).

This incredible organization provides pregnancy and parenting support to incarcerated parents, birth support from trained doulas and group-based and individualized education and support. Their goal is to nurture healthy relationships and increase parenting confidence and skills. MnPDP works with those serving sentences at the Minnesota Correctional Facility – Shakopee (Minnesota’s only women’s state prison) and those held in county correctional facilities throughout Minnesota.

One of the reasons that Lifecycle WomanCare was inspired to give to MnPDP is because our Programs Coordinator, Nikki Graham, attended this organization’s National Prison Doula Training in October 2018.

Says Nikki, “On a stunning October weekend in Minnesota, Hana Lehmann (LWC Childbirth Educator) and I joined over 90 other people from 14 different states, Canada, and Mexico. We all took up residence at a rustic summer camp just west of Minneapolis. It was a gloriously communal weekend of sharing cabins, bunkbeds, meals, stories, creative visions for the future, laughter, anger, and so many tears. We left feeling both galvanized and overwhelmingly sobered by the realities facing incarcerated women in this country. The work that needs to be done to revolutionize the criminal justice system can feel wholly insurmountable, but Hana and I now have concrete tools and resources for change. Interested in joining us? Email me!“

We believe in the power of doulas, the importance of birth partners, and the impact of education to further healthy births and relationships, and we were so happy to lend our support to the Minnesota Prison Doula Project.

#NoOneBirthsAlone