One of the first programs we set up before we opened in 2017 was Tribe Talk. I’d spent years as a doula hearing the following sentiments from my clients:

“My mom doesn’t understand why I’d want a doula. She doesn’t even understand why I don’t want an epidural.”

“I’m the only one of my friends who doesn’t want to be induced.”

“My sisters all had natural births but they don’t live near me. I have no one in my circle who ‘gets’ me.”

As a childbirth educator, I taught my families to avoid the “one up” stories. You know the ones where women who have given birth before swap stories that grow like a fisherman’s tall tale, “Well if you think your story is bad, let me tell you about how badly I tore.” While we don’t want to sugar coat stories, we want to change the focus from “one upping” to “Yes it was hard but here’s how I coped.”

Our heart is to be the local safe hub for women in the childbearing years. We want women who’ve had all kinds of births to come together for friendship and camaraderie under our roof at Tribe Talk and online at Wichita Falls Pregnancy & Beyond.

Tribe Talk is a monthly meeting that takes place in our Gathering Room (usually) the last Thursday of the month.* When we set up Tribe Talk our biggest dream is that women would meet here and become friends who support each other outside of our walls. I wasn’t sure it would happen-maybe it was too much to hope for. What actually happened was beyond our dreams! As of this writing, there is a large ongoing group message that keeps the moms connected between Tribe Talk sessions. We often hear about lunch dates between a couple of the moms and all kinds of advice and baby items are exchanged. It’s truly become a tribe of friends.

We know that sometimes you need help at 2am, when Tribe Talk is definitely not in session so we have formed the facebook group Wichita Falls Pregnancy and Beyond. Any local(ish) mom can join, even if they don’t attend Tribe Talk meetings or haven’t given birth with us. If you’re up nursing your baby and need to ask a question, there’s likely another mom awake across town feeding her baby who may answer.

We know this season is sometimes wonderfully blissful but can also be exhausting and just plain hard. You have our support. No scary stories here, just real life transparency and encouragement. Our tribe is full of moms who are in the trenches beside you willing to listen, help and maybe even make a casserole. We’d love to have you join us.

*See current times on our website calendar.

Author: Wendy Fowler

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