Tyler Hayden
This story was originally published by the and is reproduced here in partnership with Edhat.
By Tyler Hayden of The Independent
Cecilia Sousa spent her whole life babysitting, so she was very confident in her childcare abilities. “I thought I knew everything,” she said.
But soon after she left the hospital with her own baby boy, Sousa realized she needed more help learning how to nurse, a common discovery for first-time moms. She pulled herself out of bed, still bleeding, to visit a lactation specialist at their office; however, their one-size-fits-all advice proved unfruitful once she tried putting it into practice at home.
As the minutes and hours ticked by, Sousa began to worry she would never make it work. Her son was losing weight and showing little interest in eating. Panic and anxiety set in. “The hormones, the feeling of helplessness, the rawness of it all ― it was pretty intense,” she said.
That’s when Sousa got a call from Traile Easland, a registered nurse and the longtime leader of Welcome Every Baby, a free postpartum home visitation program that serves Santa Barbara County. Easland stopped by the next day and sat on Sousa’s bed with her. She helped clear a space on the cluttered dresser for a scale to weigh her son before and after feedings.
Over the next couple of hours, Easland showed Sousa different latching techniques and body positions, figuring out what worked best for the pair. She also conducted full health assessments of mother and baby, talked with Sousa about mental health, and developed a game plan going forward.
“Traile came into our home totally free of judgment and empowered us to figure it out together,” said Sousa, the business manager of a UCSB research department. “She took the time. The fact that Welcome Every Baby nurses provide such critical support during such a vulnerable time is really special.”
On June 30, after 22 years of supporting thousands of other Santa Barbara families, the Welcome Every Baby (WEB) program will end. A lack of funding is to blame, explained Easland in a recent interview, describing the loss as yet another example of America’s broken healthcare system. “I’m embarrassed and ashamed of what’s happening,” she said. “I had more rights and services available to me when I had kids 30 years ago.”
Easland and WEB’s four part-time nurses currently see around 550 families annually, she said, and the program costs approximately $350,000 to operate. It’s been available to anyone and everyone, including those who can’t afford a postpartum doula or private lactation consultant, as well as residents who don’t qualify for assistance through the county’s Public Health Department.
WEB has long struggled to secure consistent funding, Easland said, with monies at various times coming from First Five, the Bower Foundation, and other organizations. Grants and donations have also helped make ends meet. WEB recently applied to become a state-licensed home health agency, Easland said, but were denied because they operate under the umbrella of the County Education Office and are technically classified as a school district. They’ve also tried unsuccessfully to secure partnerships with local healthcare entities who could bill insurance companies on their behalf.
“We have met with every possible player in town,” including Cottage Health, Sansum Clinic, and Planned Parenthood, said Easland. Approximately 70 percent of WEB’s clients are Sansum patients, she estimated. “I’ve been very vocal and very clear that this program will go away.” Easland also recently spoke before the Board of Supervisors. Why WEB wasn’t saved before it was allowed to lapse, she doesn’t know. “I don’t have an answer for that,” she said.
When asked about possible replacement services, of which there currently are none, Santa Barbara’s three largest reproductive healthcare providers gave the following statements:
“We are aware that the WEB program is being discontinued at the end of the month and appreciate the teams and caregivers who have served families by providing postpartum home visits,” said Cottage Health spokesperson Bob Behbehanian. “To help fill the gap, Cottage Health has been collaborating with community organizations on planning an updated program for the future.”
Sansum spokesperson Jill Fonte said, “We have always appreciated the WEB program and the valuable support their team has provided to families throughout the County. We are encouraged to know there are groups within our community who are considering ways to continue the services WEB offers.”
Jenna Tosh, CEO of Planned Parenthood California Central Coast, explained her organization is actively working with local funders and partners to develop a new home-visitation model. “Our reproductive health mission includes improving maternal and infant health outcomes and closing disparities,” she said.
Dr. Katrina Mitchell, WEB’s medical director, echoed Easland that the demise of the program is emblematic of the country’s overburdened medical system. “It was providing a key safety net since we simply don’t have enough doctors or nurses or support staff,” she said. “It’s a massive crisis.”
Mitchell said WEB was especially important for infants and parents during that precarious time between hospital discharge and their first OBGYN and pediatrician appointments, typically weeks out. “What we’re losing is that immediate follow-up,” she said, emphasizing WEB’s registered nurses are credentialed not only in lactation support but also in screening for postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. “Their absence is really going to be felt,” she predicted.
Oftentimes during their visits, Easland said, the nurses would hear from new mothers about a lack of local resources, especially among those who don’t have relatives living nearby. “There are a whole lot of families who don’t have people automatically checking in on them, asking them how they’re doing,” said Easland.
Sousa, whose son is now five months old, said she was devastated to hear WEB is shutting down. “It’s the bare minimum of what women need,” she said. “And now it’s going away. A lot of moms are heartbroken over this.”
Natascha Cohen is one of them. “It’s such a shame,” she said. Cohen also struggled to nurse her eight-week-old and also benefited from WEB’s personalized care and expertise. “Other countries have support like this built in,” she said. “I’m really hopeful there are other providers in town who will take it on.”
Rachel Walsh, who gave birth earlier this month, will have to find a new source of comparable care after a visit from Easland over the weekend. Easland helped Walsh with the stiff brace her daughter must wear due to hip dysplasia and caught Walsh’s high blood pressure before it became a serious concern. Walsh said she appreciated Easland also checking in with her husband and his emotional well-being.
One of the most difficult parts about WEB ending is feeling like they’re leaving families in the lurch, said Easland. “It’s so hard to just turn our backs,” she said. “We’re scrambling for ways to still help.” And the major question remains: Who should be responsible for paying for these basic health and human services? “This is a community concern,” Easland said. “It’s not just an individual concern.”
The Santa Barbara County Education Office will host a farewell and special recognition event for Welcome Every Baby nurses on Tuesday, June 27, at 11:30 a.m. at the office’s 4400 Cathedral Oaks Road campus.
Is it no wonder that the United States of America has some of the worst prenatal and postnatal care in the entire industrialized world coupled with one of the highest infant mortality rates in the entire industrialized world? How long are the people of our country going to allow this to continue to get worse? Killing thsi program is an unholy and immoral decison!
Political leaders on both sides want us blaming ‘the other party’ for our woes because that exonerates them for their failures to actually solve the problems the people want solved while simultanestouly energizing their supports to fund their next campaign in order to beat the politicians from ‘the other party’ who they blame for their own failures to solve the given issue. Rinse repeat, that is the unfortunate state of US politics.
VOR, you are dependably partisan in every reply despite your attempts to appear balanced. It’s ridiculous. Embrace your belies proudly.
Yikes, they snapped that one up quick! Either way, VOICE I hope you were able to see my response about your supposed “EdHat’s partisan bias”
“Political leaders on both sides want us blaming ‘the other party’ ” – and you follow in lockstep. Spare us the constant sanctimony.
Since we live in CA, I can’t, nor anyone here for that matter, really blame any party but the one holding the super majority of power for the failures and consequences of the policies our elected officials enact. How many programs like WEB could the State have fully funded with the $10B and counting they’ve wasted on a high speed rail that may never be put into service? With the $33B in fraudulent EDD claims paid out, something they would warned would occur but failed to take the recommended precautions?
If you want failures, move to Florida or Texas, and see just what failure is like. We in California aren’t perfect yet, but it’s all relative.
So how is VOR wrong? I notice none of you are saying he is incorrect, just the usual drivel. Why not own it?
OG – never said he’s “wrong,” just that he’s a hypocrite. Two different things.
If not for Republicans doing the insurance companies’ bidding and blocking it at the federal level, we could have had single payer / medicare for all / universal health care with infant and maternal mortality rates on a par with the other (?) civilized nations.
100%! You said it. This country is becoming a Third World country in terms of healthcare, schooling and the way we treat our elders. Republicans trying to FORCE birth on women who get pregnant, yet they take away funding. I know, watch the comments roll in about how that isn’t the case here, but take a look at the way the GOP votes every single damned time when it comes to funding for families and children. They care about the fetus and controlling women, but they DO NOT care about kids!!!!
Sac- Implying that THEY are a hypocrite is avoiding what VOR is saying. That’s fine, just sayin’!
This in SB County in CA, the bluest of the blue. CA is the 5th largest economy in the world, nearly a country of its own, with a Dem supermajority who can literally do whatever they want and they chose to fund other programs rather then this one yet you’re here blaming Republicans….. We will never solve or improve issues like this with that line of thinking.
Terrible news. Totally agree withTheKids.
This program was invaluable to me. It was so personal and intimate at the most vulnerable time in my life. I thought I was prepared for a baby. How wrong I was. It’s hard to believe in a town this wealthy that they could not secure the funding or partner with anyone. Sad loss for women.
A town this wealthy…. that says a lot. Wealthy selfish greedy people. I bet there are thousands of rich residents here in SB that could with a wave of their hand SAVE this program and they wouldn’t even feel it, but no… they are probably vacationing in Dubai or the Caymans… or…. ?
This is a tremendous loss. Pre-and-post-natal care in SB is dangerously lacking these days, and WEB is yet another blow to families. Traile was so incredibly helpful and kind when we struggled with nursing my newborn son. She spent so much time patiently educating both myself and my husband and making sure we had the tools we needed to succeed as overwhelmed first time parents. Forever grateful for WEB. So very very sad for the families who will not experience their help.
WEB has been literally a life-saver for all these years. This is shameful. With THEKIDS.
I agree this is terrible. I remember when my wife had her first and she had difficulties. Luckily for us, we had a nurse as an aunt that helped. Most people don’t have that.