Local doula and nurse pitches 'Woven Wellness Collective' to Olive Branch board

Bailey Hannah, owner of Life Latch and Lens LLC and founder of the Woven Wellness Collective, used her three-minute public comment at the Oct. 7 Olive Branch board meeting to ask for community partners and sponsors to support a local maternal-wellness initiative.

Hannah described herself as a licensed holistic nurse, a birth and postpartum doula, a lactation consultant and a motherhood photographer. She told the board she started Life Latch and Lens LLC and later launched the Woven Wellness Collective, a network she said includes more than 400 members willing to serve mothers and families.

"I just want to invite sponsors, partners. I want to get this mission out there," Hannah said. She said her group has made connections with Palmer Home and Destiny Center, is planning food drives and wants to develop a "safe haven baby box." She said she and her co-founder, Mary Jarvis, have a business model ready to present to any official or staff member who will listen.

During a brief board exchange, Miss Hamilton asked Hannah to explain the difference between a doula and a midwife. Hannah replied, "A midwife has the licensing and credentialing and knowledge to actually birth a baby. A doula is the person that's kind of that in between to help with labor, support, the ins and outs," noting the doula's role is supportive rather than clinical.

Hannah provided her website (lifelatchlens.com) and said her Facebook group Life Latch and Lens LLC is a contact point for interested residents and potential partners. She closed by thanking the board for the opportunity to speak.

The board did not take any formal action on Hannah's request during the meeting; she asked to meet with staff or board members to present her program in more detail.