Operation Special Delivery

Stork Vision, a prenatal ultrasound company across from Copper Creek in Abilene, is raising funds and awareness for Operation Special Delivery. Its a program that provides trained volunteer doulas for pregnant women whose husbands or partners have been severely injured or who have lost their lives due to the current war on terror, or who will be deployed at the time that they are due to give birth. A doula is someone who is specially trained to give informational, emotional, and physical support to women during childbirth.

“Having your loved one deployed – or worse, killed or seriously injured – and having to face the prospects of giving birth alone is unbearable,” said Renee Caldwell, Stork Vision president. “To be able to provide a loving and helpful presence to military moms is just our small way of trying to repay an enormous debt of gratitude for their family’s sacrifice in service to our country.”

According to a news release, Operation Special Delivery was started by Patricia Newton, a New Jersey doula who wanted to help expectant moms who had lost a husband or partner in the tragedies of September 11, 2001. The response was so overwhelming that in 2005 she turned the program’s administrative duties over to the Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association.

Stork Vision will be accepting donations for Operation Special Delivery at its Abilene location as well as the rest its 19 locations in 11 states from now until March 30, 2009.