Baby Botanica Offers Birth & Wellness Services in Brewster
One of the tri-state area’s leading doulas and childbirth educators has opened a hub for growing and evolving families to access a variety of wellness services in Brewster.
Jeni Howe, owner of Baby Botanica, located off Route 22 in Clock Tower Commons, said her vision was to create a unique space for families to grow, learn and build community.
“As the needs of today’s families evolve, there’s an immediate need for a central location for parents and their children to gain access to holistic services within a wider community,” she said. “I’m proud of Baby Botanica and its mission to provide people with access to sought-after forms of care and therapy within a home- or village-like setting.”
Baby Botanica offers a space for people to access birth, health and wellness professionals.
Programs for expecting moms and their partners include parenting education, prenatal and birth education, pain coping techniques, and yoga and fitness classes. Lactation specialists, doulas and midwives offer information about preparing for pregnancy and childbirth, postpartum, and other information.
Programs for toddlers and children include crafts, yoga and mindfulness exercises. There are also workshops for teens, and general wellness programs for all ages, offered by therapists, social workers, life coaches and other professionals.
Howe is a DONA-certified birth and postpartum doula, Lamaze-certified childbirth educator, and member of the Hudson Valley Birth Network.
She has worked with about 60 families in the New York-metropolitan area, from Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess and even Fairfield counties, and found that many families without relatives nearby or who aren’t involved with a church or other civic group lacked the community support that is so vital for expecting and new families.
She began envisioning a central place where all these families – and many others – can have access to support during a chaotic time in their lives.
“I dropped a pin in the middle of where all the families live,” said Howe, who lives in Pawling. “What I liked about Brewster was that, not only is it geographically close to all the families, but it has a well-rounded demographic.”
Whether someone is from an affluent neighborhood in Westchester or from nearby Danbury, a second- or third-time mom or a young mom, from a large family or without any family, Howe said she wants all clients to feel comfortable at Baby Botanica.
Even the décor and design of the center was completed with a myriad of clients in mind. “I want everyone to feel that this is open and accessible to them,” she said.
Part of that accessibility is offering a number of free programs and services. “The model didn’t work for me if not everyone could afford it,” said Howe.
Baby Botanica is a cooperative of professionals who, in addition to offering paid services, donate one hour of free programming each week. For example, one professional offers a meetup one night per week where attendees can learn about pelvic floor health after having a baby.
In return, Howe provides space with low rent for the professionals, and promotes the center and its services, creates networking opportunities, and offers other accommodations.
While many of the programs and services are geared toward expecting and new families, there are also programs for toddlers, children, teens and parents. In addition, Howe said Baby Botanica welcomes dads, same-sex couples, inter-generational families – and all different types of families.
“The concept really is: What does a family look like?” she said. “I want to see that 3-month-old coming back here at age 6 or 7.”
For more information about Baby Botanica, visit www.babybotanica.com or Facebook, or call 845-278-4800.
