I was crushed to learn of Dee Dee's departure from GBMC and especially her mom's groups. I showed up today, for the Friday group, and there were only 3 moms, including me! Lanny Dowell explained that the group would be moderated by her (not an RN but and RN was present) from 10-12 and that we could have the room til 1pm to mingle. Still, it just wasn't the same. I specifically went to discuss follow-up plans with Dee Dee. I hope that she is still holding her group meetings, maybe at another hospital or public place, does anyone know? I will not go back to GBMC - I wonder if they have any idea how many moms and dads have been let down by this development. By the way, the new office, is just that, an office! There is nothing inviting about it and almost screams, "Please mom's take your troubles somewhere else."

What a load...if 2 hours additional is going to make or break GBMC, that's crazy. And if they think 2 hours for a mom of a baby up to 12 weeks old is enough when there are 30 moms in the room, they also have no idea how great Dee Dee was. Have you tried to get out of the house when you have a newborn? Something else is going on and we don't know the real story!!! We will miss Dee Dee very much...it was worth paying for the Friday group...why disband that too??

I hate that GBMC has chosen to revamp their support group so that it has to fit into an exact two hour period. More than that, I hate that they've not done everything they can to keep DeeDee Franke. I gave birth to my first child at GBMC and subsequently used the Lactation Station for a breastfeeding consultation. From there I decided to try the new moms' support group. Though I was only able to go to about 3 meetings, it was easily the best thing I did for my son and myself those first few weeks. As far as I could tell, DeeDee had practical answers to everything - even things that didn't seem quickly resolvable. If I'd had to be at the meetings at 10:00, I wouldn't have been able to attend since those first few weeks of a baby's life are by nature completely unpredictable. If they'd ended at 12:00, I wouldn't have had much of a chance to participate and have my issues addressed or hear about other women with similar problems.
According to GBMC's own website, they've delivered around 22,200 babies the last five years. That's about 85 babies a week. They encouraged me to use the services of the Lactation Station as I'm sure they encourage most women. If only 10% of mothers who deliver there were to go to the new moms' group, that's about 8 women to add to the group each week. Theoretically this group could easily have around 100 attendees, especially if you include new moms who deliver at other hospitals but use this service at GBMC. Luckily the numbers aren't anywhere near that high, but that's an awful lot of brand new moms and brand new babies to try to squeeze into a neat 2 hour time frame.
GBMC makes a fortune off of its maternity ward. As a result they seem to be adopting more and more of a corporate mentality in their approach to addressing this service. What they may fail to realize is that many families don't want their child's birth to be another number. We really do appreciate a bit of a personal touch with these life changing times.
While I am grateful that my child was born healthy, I have no doubt that he would have been born just as healthy and with less intervention at another hospital. Before I heard about GBMC's changes to it's postpartum support services, I had already decided to use another hospital for my next pregnancy. GBMC's decision has cemented my decision. I hope that other hospitals realize the void that GBMC is leaving, even though GBMC doesn't realize it, and use this opportunity to enhance their own maternity/lactation/support services.

Lanny Dowell is not telling the truth. I have been at GBMC three times recently when it was specifically stated that the Lactation Station was moving to make way for more profitable departments of the hospital, of which the genetics departments was cited. Additionally, the head lactation consultant (who did NOT lose her job) indicated that, in fact, there absolutely would be a reduction in services from the lactation station. Several lactation consultants (in addition to DeeDee Franke) were let go with less than 1 week's notice. In a time when most medical institutions are bending over backward to comply with AAP and WHO guidelines regarding breastfeeding, GBMC is moving BACKWARD. It is shocking that one of the largest-volume birthing centers in the entire state is reducing services in this arena.

Additionally, the loss of DeeDee Franke is a real blow to services being offered to new mothers. DeeDee Franke was absolutely not encouraged to stay at GBMC, and was offered the ability to keep her job if she was willing to work only 4 hours per week. While it is true that the support groups typically didn't fit into a 2-hour timeframe, having attended these groups more times than I can recount it would be impossible to try to condense the meeting into such a narrow timeframe. Surely, a hospital has some responsibility to its patients other than to generate revenue. Many moms are not looking for individual counseling sessions, particularly from someone who can't provide nearly the real-world expertise that DeeDee Franke could.

I, too, hope that this unprecedented move by GBMC leaves the hospital in a worse position. I am currently 3 months pregnant with my second child, and I am discussing giving birth at St. Joe's at my next OB appointment.

Once I heard of the news that the DeeDee Franke will no longer be running the new moms support group at GBMC, I was completely shocked! It’s absolutely outrageous! Clearly GBMC did not understand DeeDee’s incredible value to the hospital and most importantly, to new moms. Not having family in the area, the support groups were so helpful to me each and every week. I don’t think my baby (now 14 months) would have been as adjusted and down right happy without the help of DeeDee’s groups. I am so thankful every day I have learned how to become not just a good mom, but a GREAT mom! I learned so many things from the group such as sleep training, how to introduce solids, how to recognize the signs of reflux in an infant and how to talk to your doctor about it, to dealing with food texture sensitivities, low weight gain issues and of course, breastfeeding. I must say the rumor from GBMC was they thought the groups were too focused on breastfeeding, but I will be the first to say that was NOT the case AT ALL!! The subject of breastfeeding was just one small topic of the many topics covered in the groups.

One of the nice things about the groups was getting support from the other moms which also had babies close in age who were going through the same trials and tribulations you were, or from moms who had babies a little bit older who have “been there, done that” and could share what worked and did not work for them, or could simply say, “I know what you are going through and it will get better.” As my child grew older, and I didn’t need the support of DeeDee or the other mom’s anymore, I continued to go the groups to give back and provide that same support to other moms with younger babies.

I know GBMC’s main reasoning (at least to the public ears) is about cutting costs. The Friday groups were about $6 or $7 per week, but I would have paid more than that if it meant keeping DeeDee to run them, in their 4 hour blocks of time. And although the Tuesday groups were free, I certainly would have paid money to go to those groups as well, just to hear the wonderful wisdom DeeDee provided. I believed the Tuesday groups helped prevented me from going down a very dark road of postpartum depression.

As for the groups being shortened to 2 hours from 4… well that is just ridiculous! Seriously, the groups were so popular, that there was no way you could shorten them to just 2 hours. There are just too many people who need the support. The nice thing about the Tuesday (0-8 week) group was that you could get there when you got there. As I quickly learned and what DeeDee knew best was that new moms and babies are RARELY on time! That was a huge relief to me to know that a person such as myself who is always on time to everything, can relax a little with a newborn. If I had the pressure of needing to get to the group on time on my shoulders, I may not have went to the group at all, risking depression. Or it might have made me a little crazy trying to rush to get to the hospital on time to make sure I got into the group. It’s a huge adjustment for new moms to learn how to pack a baby bag properly, make sure you have EVERYTHING, etc. but to make it the support group times so stringent, is just poor customer service. As for the Friday group, because of the large age span of the babies (8 weeks to 1 year), nap schedules are starting to form and are still rather unpredictable. It is not always possible to get there right at 10 or even 11. Sometimes when you got there at 10, you needed to leave by 11. DeeDee was always incredibly understanding and very flexible, which should always be the atmosphere of a group like that. It is a support group afterall, NOT a college course that you are registering for and are working for a grade. Give us a break GBMC! Bring DeeDee back and offer her something she cannot refuse. You are loosing a gem in the community which you obviously did not realize you had when taking such extreme measures to make these ridiculous cuts, but perhaps you will recover from this lapse of temporary inanity and come to your senses on this subject.

From the Dad’s point of view this service was to say the least a life saver. I watched my wife leave at first every Tuesday and then every Friday a frazzled, neurotic mess and come back refreshed and full of confidence ready to teach me something new. We had received advice on issues from getting your child to sleep through the night (Thank God!) to dealing with reflux and weight issues and many more. I can’t thank DeeDee enough for saving not only my wife’s sanity but my own. From this group my wife and I have been able to find an entire network of people going through the same stage of life as us for support. We have also made life long friends which I will be forever grateful for.

This is a travesty and I am furious and sad for every woman who will not have the opportunity I had to experience this group--and the open, collegiate atmosphere of the Lactation Station (the big one, before they were downsized the first time).
My life would be completely different right now if it weren't for Dee Dee Franke and the Lactation Station--and that is a fact.
I would never have kept nursing after a rocky start, never have learned to "swaddle" (my babies would have been pie-eyed with lack of sleep), never have felt I might be "okay" with this mothering enterprise...and I NEVER would have met all these amazing, wonderful other mothers who are now, almost 5 years later, my friends. My support system. My lifeline (especially as a stay-at-home mom).
Dee Dee always said (much too modestly, by the way) that the real value of the group was the relationships we would forge--and it was true. All of sitting in this tiny basement room near the x-ray lab, staggering in when we could get there (which Dee Dee always understood), hot as Hades and standing room only, the room thick with hormones, sweat, often tears. Learning to nurse, learning to soothe--learning to relate to other women and mothers. Some of us just grateful to SEE and talk to another grown-up.
There is no way you could either bottle or contain what happened in that group in two hours, and I would challenge any of the GBMC powers-that-be to go through the trenches of early motherhood without Dee Dee--or to sit in on just one of her sessions. Instead of asking her to contain her time to two hours, they should have been grateful all that hormonal energy was kept in ONE ROOM, and for a positive purpose. And they should have been especially grateful, because Dee Dee's group, Marla's Warm-line (nursing hotline), Peg's no-nonsense walk-in advice--that was the best advertisement for having your baby at GBMC there was.
I don't care who you are--it's just plain foolishness to turn away that kind of incredible PR--especially in this economy.
The notion that "individual couseling will be available" maddeningly misses the point: it is the COLLECTIVE energy, the group dynamic (and Dee Dee herself) that made that group so special.
And I guarantee, from a cost-benefit perspective, GBMC did not consider how much cheaper it would have been to pay Dee Dee to run groups all day LONG, have happy mothers ready to do it AGAIN and urge others to have their babies at GBMC, than the repercussions of depressed, isolated mothers who do not have the skill-set and support of peers, later coming back to an ER with sleep-deprived or other kinds of accidents which occur when you're unsure of your mothering..or pestering/paying their own non-GBMC pediatricians and non-GBMC shrinks with the fall-out.
Dee Dee, you are an amazing woman and there are legions of us who are indebted to you. THANK YOU. I STILL say "Dee Dee said..."--and I have toddlers (almost-big-kids). One of the things Dee Dee "always said" was that sleep-training and soothing (hot group topics) weren't just about the immediate--they were about learning to set limits as a parent for the long haul.
Pretty forward-thinking. What a loss that GBMC is so short-sighted.
Sincerely,
Stacia Linz

I was sad, but not surprised, to learn of the changes at GBMC, as they had already scaled back the Lactation Station three years ago. The post-partum services at GBMC, as they existed 4 1/2 years ago when my oldest was born, were a model of preventive medicine at its best. The kind, patient, and knowledgeable women at the Lactation Station addressed both immediate needs ("I'm going to scream if I don't get some sleep!") and long-range concerns (from keeping your newborn's weight gain on track and recognizing warning signs of reflux to introducing healthy solid foods and learning to set limits). Between the warmline (breastfeeding hot-line), DeeDee's support groups, and the walk-in services at the store, support was available almost any time -- making it easier and more likely that mothers would seek support. I have no doubt that these services resulted in better parenting, healthier babies, and fewer phone calls and visits to pediatricians. Many moms were kept from post-partum depression by the support (both practical and emotional) gained at GBMC, and others were able to more quickly recognize and seek treatment for post-partum depression. For those of us who attended DeeDee's group, the effects have been long-lasting. We retain the approach we learned to parenting: be informed and health-conscious; set limits; but go easy on yourself and on your baby -- you're both only human. We also retain a community of friends who support each other and share valuable health and safety information with each other (from car seat safety checks, to toy recalls, to services for children with developmental difficulties). A hospital should put public health concerns before its financial bottom-line. It is a shame that this is not the case.

I too worked with DeeDee when I had my first baby and now with my second. The changes that GBMC made are unacceptable to me and they are not being honest with people calling in to inquire. The services are drastically reduced, there are no free weight-checks, no retail space as it was before, and what they do sell you have to buy from someone without any lactation consultant experience. The head lactation consultant said in her announcement that the hospital has made these changes to honor departments that make more money for the hospital. I would say that the number of births they do there a year makes money for them as well. Had I known about the changes that they were going to make to the Lactation Station and specifically DeeDee's support groups I would have chosen to have my second child elsewhere. They should seriously reconsider their position. Though I doubt that I would go back there if I was one of the lac consultants that they treated so poorly. This is hospital bureaucracy at its best.

From the article above...
Of the Lactation Station, Dowell said: "We are not going to close. We have just relocated it to the Parent Education office. We have all the same services, except maternity bra fittings and maternity clothes. We're waiting on some construction so we have room for those."

In actuality...they donated all the maternity wear and nursing bras to charity.

Why would they do that if they were planning to reopen?

I am SOOOO sad to hear that Dee Dee is no longer at GBMC. Hey Dee Dee, if you're reading this, please know that we all will miss you very much!!!! I was planning to come in this Friday and now I'm not sure I will even bother. I'm sure the new moderator is a good person but nobody can replace Dee Dee. I hope we can see you again soon some day. Not just to bombard you with questions but to make sure that YOU are doing well too. You helped me SOOO much and I wish you all the best.

All the above comments from other moms sum up all the feelings I have too. I've been through her group with two kids and feel VERY lucky to have been able to experience what Dee Dee offered. I still find myself faced with various parenting dilemmas and often ask myself "What would Dee Dee say" and somehow I find comfort and an answer if I imagine her giving me the response. Dee Dee helped me get through a colicky baby by helping me realize she had reflux (which my pediatrician missed, but once I pointed out the things that Dee Dee helped me see, he gave me a perscription and I instantly had a different, happier baby!). She taught me how to soothe a crying baby when I couldn't find the right techniques myself (I love the tight swaddle and blanket over the eyes trick). She helped me through sleep training and gave me the will be strong enough to teach my kids some independance (and thus they both became good sleepers). She helped me understand what really is "normal" and what I should worry about (like, should I get more milk from one side - appearently, yes!). She also helped me connect with tons of new friends who are moms just like me with questions and issues just like mine. She's also helped me become somehwat of an "expert" because I often find myself repeating her advice to other new moms. She's affected my life in so many ways and I feel SOOO grateful to have met her and learned from her. I feel sorry for any mom who has not had the opportunity to meet her.

I don't think the new format for the parent support groups will ever be the same. I can say this with some certainty because I've attended when Dee Dee was on vacation, and there was a substitute moderator. It was not at all the same energy and the feeling of commeradery that you get in Dee Dee's groups was absent. The questions weren't answered in the same way, to the same level of detail, or with the same passion. And the substitute moderator was stumped with some of the tougher issues that people would bring up, when I'm sure that Dee Dee would have had an answer. I decided long ago that these classes wouldn't be worth while if Dee Dee wasn't in charge. I'm sorry to say that our community has lost a wonderful resource.

I agree, GBMC is not telling the truth. I don't agree 2 extra hours of room rental and DeeDee's time would have broken this mutli-million dollar hospital. I love that Dowell says "I don't understand the miscommunication". Clearly, she is the one not communicating. If she or any of the suits up in the executive branch had bothered to ASK any of the countless Moms who have attended DeeDee's groups or used the Lactation Station, they would have been told of the immense value these services provide. Everyone is right, these services were a lifesaver for my family! And guess what, I paid for 10 months of the Friday group, I paid for parking everytime, I paid for lunch in the cafeteria. I also referred friends, neighbors, strangers, co-workers and clients (as a counselor) to these groups and to the L. Station. I encouraged women to have their babies at GBMC. NO MORE! I have friends who at this moment are changing their OB's and changing hospitals to have the 2nd children. GBMC, in their attempt to "restructure", have majorly screwed up. And they also didn't count on the power of the Internet. Many moms in this area belong to baby bulletin boards formed as a result of meeting one another in these groups. We know these moves were all about MONEY, Genetics wanting their space back, and certain people unable to get along with their staff. If you're reading this Ms. Dowell, you should also know that we moms also know that we were referred to as "overly dependent...DeeDee groupies". Deny it all you want. We don't believe the GBMC cover story being fed the public and we don't appreciate being treated like we don't understand the intricacies of the situation.

Gee...doesn't seem like a smart way to treat the mothers and families in this community now does it? Wouldn't it have made more sense to evaluate the group first by either observing it or asking the attendees? Well I guess when you want to harpoon the group leader anyway, why would you do that?

DeeDee - you rock and please start another group in the community so I can take my twins when they're born. People will pay. I don't plan on giving another dime to these GBMC knuckleheads.

I too feel very upset that GBMC is loosing such a talent as DeeDee. While her moms support groups were very helpful to me in many ways, it was her personality, understanding and compassion towards post-partum depression that I benefited from the most. I still remember the day I called the lactation station to speak to her about the depression support group and started to cry. DeeDee told me to go ahead and get it out; that she would listen for as long as I needed to go on. The night I showed up to the group she gave me a big hug and said how happy she was to see me and for me to get some help. I can't see how anyone is going to get that kind of care without her.

DeeDee if you do read these posts, I hope you know how much you have touched so many lives in so many ways. I think you have a cult that will follow you anywhere you go. Best wishes to you in your future endeavors.

I must say, that this is a huge shame. Dee Dee's new mom group was a lifesaver to me when I first had my baby (now 9 1/2 months). As a new mom I needed reassurance that I was doing the right things. I needed reassurance that the things my baby was doing were normal (or if not, then I would know to get her checked out). I was planning on quitting breastfeeding several times early on, but each time I left that group I had a new resolve to continue and am still breastfeeding my daughter. I would not still be breastfeeding if not for that group. Not only did I seek Dee Dee's advice, but I sought the support of other moms going through similar things. It was nice to know I was not alone, and I have made some good friends.

I on occassion attended the Friday groups as well (for older babies). It was a great forum for having feeding and sleeping questions answered, without bothering the pediatrician. I work so couldn't go to the group often but I made sure to pop in if I had a specific question.

I raved about these groups to my friends, and had friends who did not deliver at GBMC attend these groups and go to consultations at the Lactation Station. GBMC is doing a great disservice to the community by laying off Dee Dee and the other lactation consultants.

I delivered our baby four years ago at GBMC, and was amazed at the fantastic service, which lived up to its reputation for excellent birthing facility. The best part, however, was the lactation consultation that happened AFTER I left the hospital. I called the Lactation Station hoping to find if they had a certain item in stock, and Dee Dee answered the phone and somehow figured out the problem, and persuaded me come in with my newborn (it was snowy) and confirmed that he was not getting any nutrition due to a weak suck and early birth. She prevented us from returning to the hospital with high bilirubin levels, and walked me through the next very difficult seven weeks, when our son finally learned to nurse!

I was sad that we moved, so that our second born was delivered in another city, and the lactation service there did not compare with GBMC, and again, a phone call to Dee Dee and Marla helped me out when I was stumped.

I cannot express enough the gratitude that I have to Dee Dee and the Lactation Station, and I cannot express how much respect I have lost for GBMC's poor decision to punish and curtail their best service to new moms.

Lori Kempen

I am deeply upset to hear about the decrease in services provided at the lactation center and loss of several of the staff members who worked there. . I am due to have a baby August 2nd. If not for the fact that I am due in 2 weeks, and, I would be switching hospitals. The support I received from the lactation staff was invaluable to me. I utilized almost all of GBMC’s offered pre-natal classes, support groups, and services provided at the lactation store. If not for all of those services, I would have had a difficult time adjusting to new motherhood. The support group answered most of my questions on sleep, feeding the baby, crying, and overall how to adjust.

Without Deedee’s support group, I would not have met the 7 other mom’s that have become my close friends and my son’s playgroup for 2 years now. There is also a larger group I believer almost 100 of us now, that formed an e-mail listserv and hosted walking groups, meetings at cafes, pot luck lunches, and formed book clubs.

The lactation consultants helped me with feeding problems, measured me for a good nursing bra, and assistance buying breast pump parts. I also utilized the warm line several times when I had a problem with clogged milk ducts.

I understand that you intend to keep the support group and lactation counseling, and center, but to a lesser extent. The flexibility in times/scheduling was so appreciated by mom’s who drove from all over city and state with newborns not easy to transport in the first few weeks.

I have been told that several of GBMC’s staff members have been hired by a doula service called Mothering Mommies, LLC. I used this doula service with the delivery of my son. They will be providing a number of services including lactation consultation, that may now be lacking at GBMC.

I have several times considered switching hospitals due to the lack of natural childbirth support, and high pressure to be induced and get an epidural. I am also aware of the extremely high C-section rates, often elective versus medically necessary. What kept me at GBMC was both my doctor and all the pre and post delivery services.

Overall, I am very disappointed that a hospital which advertises to be the top women’s hospital for labor/delivery is cutting many of its most valuable community services for women.

I am deeply saddened to hear about the decisions that GBMC has decided to make. As a first time mother this group was a life saver. Besides the fact that I had a newborn baby on my hands, I also had always worked everyday, so being at home day in and out was a whole new experience. The Tuesday groups was something that I looked forward to every week. It got me out of the house, I had a place to go ask any questions (no matter how trival they may have seemed to me) and be around other mothers going through the same experiences.

Dee Dee is a very special person that most certainly can not be replaced. It's the whole package.....her warm smile, her wisdom, her passion, and her compassion for these new mother (and fathers). I believe that this group helped me to get through the baby blues and avoid entering the world of postpartum depression. Just knowing that you are not the only person experiencing and feeling these new mothers things, makes a world of difference.

As Dee Dee has said, the greatest gift of this group is the lifelong friends you will make. Although I can't get together with these lovely woman as much as I did in the early days, we still keep in touch through a Yahoo group. The beauty of this group is that all the children were the same age. This allows us to use each other as a support group since we are all going through similar experiences. This group of women still get together on a regular basis to go for walks, to museums, our to lunch, etc.

Dee Dee, if you read this, I want to sincerely thank you for the gifts you have given all of us. I wish you the best in your future endeavors and hope that our paths cross in the future. I don't know if I will be having another baby, yet, but my first though when I heard the news was, where will I go in the early days for support?

I can't possibly express how disappointed I was to find out about Dee Dee's departure and the closing of the lactation station. I utilized these services 4 years ago when I had my first baby. If it were not for these services I don't think I would have been able to breastfeed. For the first 6 days of my son's life I had to pump and my husband had to use a suringe to finger feed him. We only had to do this until that first group on Tuesday. My son was 6 days old when he went to his first group with me. Dee Dee helped me to figure out how to get him to latch and the rest is history. I was able to nurse for a year. In addition to this, I had problems finding a nursing bra to fit as I was a lot larger than normal and they didn't provide bras my size at most places. Cindy at the Lactation Station fitted me and I actually felt so comfortable in those bras that I didn't think I would every go back to regular bras! I went to the Tues group the whole time and then switched over to the Friday group for a good 9 months. I even changed my work schedule so that I was off on Fridays to make it to group. I did not mind paying to come to the group. I didn't mind paying for the parking. I didn't mind any of the hassle of trying to get to the group with an infant because of all the valuable tools I learned from Dee Dee. She is a magnificent person who offered so much more to the group than just lactation support. She highly encouraged us to form a mother's group which we did and we are all still friends 4 years later. Many of the mothers have gone on to have their second and one is even having her third baby now. These bonds have grown so stong that I am even the Godmother to one of the second babies that came from the group. How can you beat that? My two best friends are both from this group. And I can't imagine myself or my son growing up without them and their kids.

When I found out about this through a mass email that was sent out by another group I panicked as I am 7 months pregnant right now. And as many of you know, you forget what to do! So I was already planning my new work schedule around the Tues and Friday groups. When I found out about the group ending I didn't know what to do. All I could think about is that I needed to know where Dee Dee was going to be relocating. So I went to the group pregnant. And thank you for all of you who so warmly welcomed me into that group. I know how hard it is to be in there feeling so vulnerable with your new infant. I was hesitant to go in but was in such a panic about what I was going to need to remember that I just did it!

I do want to mention and would love if anyone has any additional info to share about this. I've heard that Dee Dee is back and will be running her meetings as usual. If this is the case then I am ok still delivering at GBMC. If this is not the case, I'm trying to figure out if it is too late to switch hospitals.

Dee Dee if you are reading this, I hope this is true. I wish you the best as you are an amazing person.

You may have missed the update that Franke is back at GBMC: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/baltimoremomblog/2008/07/dee_dee_franke_comes_back_to_g.html

i will never in my life deliver at gbmc when i had my son i should have had a c section but i did not i had to have 20+ stiches to repair the damage i delivered a 9 pound baby for my first child and i still have undignosed pain two years later