Dana Bennett, Registered Dietitian, Certified Lactation Counselor
 | Dana O'Meallie has been Allen County Health Department's Dietitian/Nutritionist since April 2001. In addition to her duties in this capacity, she is a Certified Lactation Counselor and has developed the Breast Feeding Peer Counselor Program in Allen County. Dana is a state wide advocate of Breastfeeding, and promotes the healthiest form of feeding your baby.
Dana is the youngest of five kids, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and has a delightful sense of humor and keeps her co-workers laughing, sometimes in stitches. Dana and her husband, Jim share their home with their two dogs, Hoegaarden and Guinness. Dana is a collector of all things apple, a wonderfully creative chef and is always willing to help straighten out the mysteries of healthy eating. |
Susan Brown, RN, ICCE, IBCLC, RLC
and SIDS/Childhood
Death Grief Counselor
 | Registered Nurse with over
32 years of experience in MCH. ICEA Certified Childbirth Educator, Board Certified Lactation Consultant, KY’s statewide folic acid campaign coordinator promoting perinatal health with focus to preconception health, the prevention of neural tube defects (NTDs- birth defects of the brain and spine) and the prevention of late preterm birth—both can be improved by the daily consumption of folic acid by all childbearing age women PRIOR to conception to reduce the risk of prematurity by 50% and the risk of NTDs by 70%. Ways Susan can help you: 1. Recognize preconception concerns so that you can address them with your HCP 2. Prepare for pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, parenting, and breastfeeding 3. Learn ways to communicate with your HCP team to achieve the birth experience you desire, and develop a birth plan 4. Learn coping skills and breathing and relaxation techniques 5. Learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of preterm labor and what to do next 6. Distinguish between normal and abnormal symptoms to help ensure you receive the care you need in a timely manner 7. Lactation consultation and Grief counseling 8. Recognize and seek help if needed for postpartum depression Email Susan |
Lisa Dalporto, Certified Nurse-Midwife
 | Lisa Dalporto is
a certified nurse-midwife and health promotion specialist living in
Warren County. Her work has led her to serve families in many
capacities, including delivering babies in hospitals as well as in two
out-of-hospital birth centers in her native West Virginia, one of which
she founded and helped grow into a comprehensive health center now
serving patients of all ages. She has been a Wellness Director for two
companies, both garnering national attention as award-winning corporate
health programs. Her career took a new turn in 2008, when she spent
four months in Africa, returning to her midwifery roots by training
Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA's) in a remote area of Ghana. Later
that same year she was invited to Bermuda as a consultant for The
Bermuda Integrative Health Co-Op. She now divides her time between
Bermuda, where she attends home waterbirths and Kentucky, where she
serves part time as a mental health nurse for a correctional facility.
Lisa's passion is working with people of diverse backgrounds and talents
to develop the consensus and enthusiasm needed to achieve a common
goal. With over 25 years of experience delivering babies in all
settings, plus having had a homebirth herself, she is excited about the
growing enthusiasm for birth options in western Kentucky and looks
forward to joining with others interesting in expanding birth options
for women and their families.
Email Lisa |
Michelle Howell, Coordinator of BabyNet Community
 | Michelle Howell is a farmer's wife, mother to 4, friend to many, and seeker of the truth. She teaches independent childbirth classes as well as offering doula services in the South Central Kentucky area. She also helps coordinate the BabyNet Community events held the last Monday of each month at the ALIVE Center.
Ways Michelle can help you: 1. Get you connected to families in the area that have similar interests, challenges or lifestyles (such as adoptive families, breastfeeding support, homeschooling). 2. Help you find a doula or lactation consultant. 3. Schedule you to speak or present at an upcoming BabyNet Community meeting. You will find out more about Michelle from her monthly articles in the SOKY Happenings as well as on her family's website: www.needmoreacres.com Email Michelle |
Amy Meador, R.D., L.D.
 | Graduate of WKU with BS
in Dietetics. Completed Dietetic Internship with National HealthCare Corp. Worked in long term care for 6 ½ years and in public health for 4+ years. Ways Amy can help you: 1. Answer your general nutrition questions 2. Work with you to make lifestyle nutritional changes to help with weight loss, improve blood sugars, improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels, etc. 3. Provide resources and information regarding nutrition |
Bonnie Reed, IBCLC, LLL Leader
 | An experienced International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and Birth & Postpartum Doula, Bonnie Hannibal Reed has been working with pregnant and parenting women and their families for 20 years. She was the Child Development Specialist for the largest obstetric/pediatric practice in Boston, where she taught childbirth education, newborn care, parenting skills, and has lectured at several universities on childhood developmental and behavioral issues. She has a Master’s degree in Child Development from Boston College, and did her doctoral studies in Developmental Psychology at New York University. She most recently contributed to Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding (2009).
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