College of Business Administration

GROUP MEMBERS:

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The mission of our social change project was to extend the knowledge of childbirth to those may not have the opportunity to learn otherwise. It is integral to realize that Lamaze is more than just a breathing class, but an educational impact on the lives of the parents and the soon to be newborn. With that in mind we set to create a social change project that would remain consistent with the ethical principles we have learned throughout this course. More importantly we felt a moral duty to offer a class that would help with the childbirth process, through deontological ideals. Although social class often dictates ones ability to attend Lamaze class; our group in conjunction with the ethic of care ideals, set out to make a positive impact on the San Diego Community's lower class.

We collaborated with different for profit organizations such as, Town and Country Hotel and Resort, Ross Pediatric Supplies, and a Professional Lamaze Instructor. Also with non-profit organizations such as, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Prenatal Care Network (PCN), and the San Diego Adolescent Parenting Program (SDAPP) to help create our social change project. Town and Country Hotel and Resort donated a two hundred dollar per day meeting room along with refreshments and cookies. Mary M. Rowe, RN, FACCE, MSN, a certified Lamaze instructor donated her time each week to conduct a three hour Lamaze class, classes in which she usually charges seventy-five dollars per couple. Ross Pediatrics donated baby formula as well as information on child birth and nurturing at an estimated cost of two hundred and fifty dollars of product. Two couples at the classes were referred by WIC and one couple from PCN. Together we recruited four couples for free Lamaze classes, three of whom were of a lower socio-economic status.

In partnership with the preceding organizations we were able to offer three three-hour Lamaze classes. The first three Sunday’s in April (7th ,14th ,21st) covered the following topics; anatomy and physiology of pregnancy, the birth process, relaxation, breathing technique, comfort measures in labor, epidural anesthesia, cesarean birth, preparation for the newborn, and preparation for parenthood. The students were taught a lot more than simply breathing techniques, when in actuality; it was only a minor detail of the overall class. Once the class was finished, the students received certificates of completion from Mary and a basket of donated products from Ross Pediatric Supplies.

The success of this project should not be determined by the number of students attending the class, but on the impact the class had on them and the new born, as well as the impact of the whole project on us. The ethic of care principles portrays the value of relationships and through our classes we achieved relationships we did not anticipate developing. Through the relationships with the students we were actually invited to one of student’s baby shower and birth. Another success of the project was realized through the virtue theory; through our actions we were able to show our true ethical ideals by offering this class. The fact of the matter is Lamaze is yet to recognized as a legitimate form of prenatal care, hence medical coverage's do not cover it. Through distributive justice theory we felt that every body should have the equal opportunity to the prenatal education that Lamaze classes have to offer. The attendance of all the students, Mary, and us every Sunday displayed the power of the social contract theory. Through the donations we received we saw that businesses do care about the community and with that we learned the purpose of the project, businesses are a social entity as well as a profit making endeavor.