Esther Hausman helps people out
Halloween is my son’s favorite holiday, but today also happens to be the birthday of our favorite Patch columnist, . How fun to be born on Halloween and have everyone celebrating your birthday with parties, costumes and snacks highly saturated in fat.
I thought I’d add a little twist to Stef’s traditional birthday celebrations by chatting up the good news of Esther Hausman, a Concordian who has been first on the scene to many a birthday celebration.
Esther is a nurse-midwife who many of us recognize as the leader of the widely popular Positive Pregnancy and Parenting Fitness classes she taught through the
Esther, who was brought up in Peabody, helped hundreds of women remain fit through this prenatal and postpartum fitness program. In fact, Stefanie took this class and was just reminiscing with Esther about how wonderful it was. Esther, who recently joined the Women’s Health Associates in Wellesley, loves running into her former students.
“I'll ask, ‘How’s the baby?’ and of course, that baby is 13 now,” said Esther.
Though she no longer teaches the class, Esther is immensely appreciative of Recreation Director Danner DeStephano and his staff for their assistance in her career. Esther said as soon as she became a certified fitness instructor, she asked Danner about holding a class. Her timing was perfect, as the upcoming schedule was being worked out.
“I want to thank the people of Concord who got me to this point, including Danner DeStephano, who helped me when I first did prenatal fitness in the 80s,” said Esther. “I walked into the Recreation Department in February and I started my class in March. I had 15 students in my first class. It was standing room only.”
The Recreation Department staff and her former students “are the people who made me the compassionate and experienced midwife I am today,” said Esther.
Esther is as active as ever as a midwife. To date, she has attended 169 births. She is the treasurer of the Massachusetts affiliate of American College of Nurse-Midwives. Esther is also a parent-child nurse, a birth doula and a mentor with Birthing From Within, which advocates holistic prenatal care.
Esther wants us to be aware of the many midwifery services available for women from attending births to help navigating puberty, menopause, and other normal life stages. Each October, the American College of Nurse-Midwives celebrates National Midwifery Week, which was Oct. 3 through 9 this year.
On top of everything else, Esther is mom to Ari, a student at Binghamton University, and Hannah, a student at Gann Academy. Her husband Ken works for IBM. The Hausman family has lived in Concord for 24 years.
Congratulations to Esther, her family, and of course, Stefanie!
A program to APPLAUDD
Attention parents of teens, preteens and young adults. Beginning tomorrow night, Nov. 1, the Concord Carlisle Parent Initiative is sponsoring a four-part program by Marilyn Belmonte called APPLAUDD: A Prevention Program Learning About Underage Drinking and Drugs.
The sessions will be held at in the Little Theatre from 7-9 p.m., on the following Wednesdays: Nov. 1, 15, 29 & Dec 6.
Marilyn Belmonte is a nationally recognized Substance Abuse Prevention & Drug Abuse Recognition Specialist. Her APPLAUDD program has received awards as a workshop that educates parents about the signs of substance abuse in young people as well as prevention techniques and other vital tactics to help parents keep their children safe.
The CCPI is made up of a group of local parents who organize programs aimed to help parents safely raise healthy children. Thank you to CCPI for arranging APPLAUDD.
Hello to Ray
A shout out to my good friend Ray Holland who is going under the knife today at You are brave to be having surgery at all, Ray, never mind scheduling it for Halloween. I speak for many when I wish you a smooth and healthy recovery.
Boo!
Yes, it’s Halloween so I must mention the ghost that’s been haunting the for a few centuries now. He (or she) got a few minutes of air time when the folks of the Syfy channel’s TV show Ghost Hunters came by to film coverage of the tales of the haunted inn. Many guests have claimed to see a ghost in room 24. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it makes for a good story, especially on Halloween.
Have a safe and healthy Halloween everyone!
Do you have something to share? Contact me at mcb23@comcast.net or Stefanie at stefanieac@comcast.net and we will be happy to help you spread the word.
