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Diabetes support groups

BANGOR – St. Joseph Healthcare’s daytime Diabetes Support Group will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 3, at the Diabetes and Nutrition Center, Building 1, St. Joseph Healthcare Park, 900 Broadway. Group members share personal experiences relating to diabetes management, stress reduction and coping skills. Noreen Delorey of Sunbury Physical and Occupational Therapy will speak on “Exercise for Fun.”

The evening support group will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 8. Gina Batchelder of Community Health and Counseling Services will speak on Medicare Part D gap coverage, and Val Sauder from Eastern Agency on Aging will update members on Maine’s 2-1-1 assistance directory.

For information, call St. Joseph Healthcare’s Diabetes and Nutrition Center at 262-1870.

Ibot demonstration

BANGOR – The Physical Disabilities Support Group has been moved from the first Thursday to the second Thursday for May only.

The group will meet at 3 p.m. Thursday, May 10, at Alpha One, 1048 Union St.

The Ibot and the standing frame will be demonstrated.

Mothers & More open house

Mothers & More, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of mothers, is celebrating its 20th anniversary by getting down to its traditional basics – helping mothers make connections.

The Bangor Chapter of Mothers & More will host its spring open house 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, in Room 2D at Eastern Maine Medical Center.

When the national organization began in 1987, then-Formerly Employed Mothers at Loose Ends was a lifeline to mothers who had left their careers to care for their children. Mothers experiencing this change felt isolated, invisible, lost. Through the years, the organization has grown, reaching out to help more mothers while it evolved. In 2000, the organization changed its name to Mothers & More to reflect that many of its members were no longer “formerly employed,” but rather “altered” in their career paths to accommodate their mother roles.

Today, a little more than half of Mothers & More members are employed in some capacity. An employed mother of today may be a stay-at-home mother next month and a part-time employed mother next year.

Mothers & More is conducting its fifth Mother’s Day Campaign titled “Making Connections. Making a Difference.”

Mothers & More boasts a nationwide network of chapters with opportunities for mothers to connect with each other as women facing similar challenges. Mothers also connect with their other-than-mother selves through programming exploring their interests and meetings in the evening without children so they can feel free to focus on themselves.

Mothers & More is an active and vocal advocate for mothers, generating public awareness and discussion about how public policies, workplace practices and cultural attitudes often de-value care-giving work. At the same time, the organization provides a safe place for women to discuss real feelings, real lives and real motherhood.

The Bangor Chapter of Mothers & More has been active for four years. Member benefits include fun and thought-provoking meetings, moms’ nights out, children and family activities, playgroups, special events and more. Chapter meetings occur at 7 p.m. the second Wednesday and fourth Thursday of the month at EMMC.

For more information, visit www.mothersandmore.org or www.bangormothersandmore.org, e-mail bangormoms@yahoo.com or call 947-4038.

Mother’s Day Tea

BANGOR – May is International Doula Month. The Maine Association of Independent Doulas will host a free Mother’s Day Tea to honor new mothers and mothers-to-be 2-4 p.m. Saturday, May 12, at the Isaac Farrar Mansion on Union Street.

Information on community resources, pregnancy and birth information, and birth planning will be available. New moms and moms-to-be will be pampered with hand and shoulder massages. Door prizes will be awarded and participants will meet area doulas.

Refreshments will be served. For information call 945-9804.

Doulas assist women as they become mothers by helping them have a positive birth experience. The birth of her first baby is a landmark in a mother’s personal development. She undergoes a role change as she becomes responsible for another human being. This rite of passage connects her to all women who have given birth before her.

A doula is trained and experienced in childbirth, providing continuous emotional reassurance and physical support.

Before the birth, a doula educates and informs women and their partners about options and helps them articulate their needs. During the birth, she accompanies the woman and her partner through the labor to provide continuity in care. Afterward, she provides support for breastfeeding and the transition into parenting.

Doulas do not perform clinical skills, diagnose medical conditions, give medical advice or make decisions for clients.

Studies show that when a doula is present at birth, said Evelyn Conrad of MAID, women are 26 percent less likely to give birth by cesarean section, 41 percent less likely to give birth with a vacuum extractor or forceps, 28 percent less likely to use analgesia or anesthesia, and 33 percent less likely to be dissatisfied with their birth experience.

Doulas are trained to know the psychology of birth and can provide instruction on how the partner may best help the mother. As a baby is born, so is its mother.

Accessibility and assistive technology

BANGOR – Occupational Therapy students at Husson College invite the public to attend a workshop on accessibility and assistive technology 2:30-4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 3, at Dyke Center for Family Business at Husson College.

The workshop is designed to help participants learn what accessibility tools and assistive technology can do to make daily activities, community mobility, and leisure and hobby interests easier to do. There is no cost for the program.

For more information, call Christine Hubbard at the O.T. department at Husson College at 941-7045 or e-mail hubbardc@husson.edu

Living with CPAP machine

BANGOR – The St. Joseph Hospital Center for Sleep Medicine will present a panel discussion on “Living with Your CPAP Machine” at the meeting of the Sleep Center’s Patient Support Group 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 10, at the St. Francis Center, 294 Center St.

CPAP is an acronym for “Continuous Positive Airway Pressure,” a mechanical method designed to aid breathing during sleep.

The support group is open to the public and holds meetings quarterly for people with sleep disorders and their family members. Refreshments will be served, compliments of Lincare. To register or to obtain more information, call 262-1774.

Relay for Life

OLD TOWN – Walkers will go around the clock in the battle against cancer during the American Cancer Society’s Old Town Relay for Life, now in its 14th year. Teams of walkers will gather at the Old Town High School Track at 6 p.m. Friday, May 18, for an overnight 24-hour relay.

Relay for Life is a family-oriented team event where participants walk relay-style around the track and take part in fun activities off the track. Teams may include co-workers, club members, family and friends who have collected donations before the event.

There is still time to register a team for the Old Town Relay, which will feature live music and performers, games, food and fun. Teams may consist of eight to 15 members, all raising money for the fight against cancer and walking to show their support. Those interested in forming or joining a team should call Dawn Emery Gray at (800) 464-3102, ext. 3727.

“Relay for Life is a unique opportunity for our community to come together in the fight against cancer,” said Carla Bommarito, event chairwoman. “Many of the participants are cancer survivors – anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer – which serves as a reminder that our community is not immune to this disease and we can actually help our friends, families and neighbors who have been touched by cancer.”

All are invited to attend the luminaria ceremony at 10 p.m. at the track. To honor the community’s cancer survivors and to remember those lost to the disease, survivors circle the track rimmed with glowing luminaria – candle lanterns – while the names of survivors and those who have died are read aloud. For information, call (800) ACS-2345.

Funds raised at Relay for Life enable the American Cancer Society to support local services and resources for cancer patients and their families. Funds also support critical cancer research and community education programs designed to teach people how to reduce their risk of developing cancer.

Last year, the Old Town Relay For Life raised more than $197,000. This year event organizers are hoping to collect more than $225,000 for the fight against cancer.

For more information, visit www.cancer.org.