GALS History and Impact
GALS is Growing
The Board of Directors and Leadership of Giving Austin Labor Support, together with volunteers, stakeholders and the greater Austin community, created the 2020-2023 Strategic Plan for Giving Austin Labor Support.
More and more people in Central Texas are recognizing the impact of doulas on improving maternal health outcomes, and investing in GALS with time, talent, and financial donations. Because of this investment, we are poised to grow exponentially in the next three years.
Our history
In 2008, Giving Austin Labor Support began as a grassroots organization. While working as a Labor and Delivery nurse at Brackenridge hospital, Brigid Dodson saw a need for support and set out to create a program for any one who felt alone, unsupported, or afraid during their childbirth experience. Dodson rallied a group of women involved in the birth world who shared this belief. Caroline Byrd, Jessica Atkins, Veronica Rice, and others, spent a year meeting in coffee shops and forming what is now known as Giving Austin Labor Support. Soon, the organization grew, became a certified 501©3, and developed a volunteer base of new and experienced doulas giving back to the Austin Community. GALS continues to grow and support more families in Central Texas each year.
Studies have shown that when a birthing individual feels supported during childbirth, they feel empowered and are more confident in their abilities to parent. That is what GALS is setting out to do.
Today, GALS has expanded into the community to connect volunteers with prenatal and postpartum clients, through past and present partnerships and collaborations with Any Baby Can, Pregnancy and Postpartum Health Alliance of Texas and Travis County Sheriff’s Office.
We want Austin to be a city that supports ALL our birthing people and children!