Back to School

Users and their needs

Users will typically be pregnant women seeking information about childbirth. Many will be first-time mothers. Most other users will likely be somehow involved with the pregnant woman—a supportive friend or family member, her husband or boyfriend, her doula, her doctor. Many users will have questions about particular topics, including natural childbirth, waterbirth, and midwifery in general. A few will be interested in the clinic as an entity, for considering donations, map to the clinic, or simply trying to find a phone number or e-mail address.

Sarah

Sarah just turned 18 years old, and lives in Fairbanks, Alaska. She left home six months ago and has been staying with her boyfriend and his roommate. It has been five weeks since her last period, and she is fairly certain that she is pregnant. She is angry at her parents, and is determined not to ask for their help. She is worried that her boyfriend might not want to be with her after he finds out. Abortion is not an option to her; she is determined to have the baby, whatever else may happen.

Sarah dropped out of school at the same time she left home, and has been working part-time at a local restaurant busing tables. She makes $7.15 per hour, about $150 per week. Most of her income is spent on transportation to and from work, clothes, cigarettes, and fast food. She has no health insurance through her employer and no savings to speak of.

Alex

Alex is a young doctor who recently moved to Fairbanks, Alaska. He graduated as an obstetrician from University of Michigan Medical School two years ago. His wife of three years gave birth to their first child at a hospital in her hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they had met and lived previously while Alex was finishing his degree.

Alex likes hospitals. He respects their place in Americans’ minds as a safe haven where quality, professional medical attention can be obtained. He is a little uptight, but his toddler at home is teaching him to relax. He is still very idealistic, and treats every patient as though they are family.

About 20 minutes before his graveyard shift started, Alex received a call in his office from the maternity ward receptionist requesting he come down immediately. In the lobby, the receptionist pointed him to an 18-year-old girl named Sarah in the waiting area, who wiped a couple tears from her face with her restaurant uniform’s apron as he approached.

Sitting there in the lobby and without going into details, she told him that she was considering having her baby at the Alaska Family Health and Birth Center, which she knew about because one of her mom’s friends had a baby there a few years ago. She had no money to pay to have the baby delivered, but a receptionist at the clinic had told her on the phone earlier that day that they would be happy to have her there anyway, regardless of her financial situation. She wants to know whether the clinic is a safe place to have her baby. Alex has never heard of the clinic and wants to know more about it, both for Sarah’s sake and to satisfy his own curiosity.

Amanda

Amanda is 23, and lives with her husband in Tempe, Arizona, where he works as a mechanic for a mid-sized airline. She works as a substitute teacher at a local elementary school. Together, they earn about $76,000 annually, and live comfortably in a two-bedroom condo. They are saving for a larger house. They do not have children, but they are trying.

After a surprise call from her younger sister at 5 a.m., Amanda is anxious. She grabs her laptop and searches Google for information on Alaska Family Health and Birth Clinic, where her sister, Sarah, is considering having her baby.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8