THE BABY
GURU
Dottie Barrett’s love for babies shows in her
25 years of teaching new moms and dads.
BY W.B. FRESA
“It’s amazing to me the products new
moms think they need when, in fact,
not much is needed.”
D
ottie Barrett knows a lot about babies. She’s been
taking care of them since she was a little girl, and she
and her husband, George, have raised four daughters
of their own. Now, beginning her 25th year as a
volunteer at the Women’s Care Clinic of Pittsburgh, she’s still
happy to go to work and share her love and knowledge with
everyone welcoming a new life into the world.
“When WWII ended, my family moved into new Army
housing in Harrisburg and our neighbors were expecting
their first child,” says Barrett. “[The mom’s] name was Patsy
Cavanaugh and she taught me everything about babies—how to
diaper them, feed them and burp them. The following year she
had another baby, and the year after that, another! My mother
kept telling me I shouldn’t be spending so much time at Patsy’s
house, but Patsy admitted she needed my help and I learned so
much from her.”
By the time the Cavanaughs had their third baby, she was
10 and taking the two older kids for walks in a stroller. “I loved
tending to them,” says Barrett. “But we moved that same year and
I began babysitting kids in our new neighborhood, including the
children of our pediatrician.
“Back in the mid ‘50s, I got paid about $.50 an hour, but the
doctor paid me well. I made enough money to buy my own
clothes. He and his wife would even change their night out so I
could attend my school dances on Friday nights and then babysit
for them on Saturdays.”
Eventually, after she and her husband were well into raising
their own kids, and fostering some along the way, Barrett decided
it was time to share her love and knowledge of babies with those
who needed it most, young moms and dads.
“I began volunteering at the Women’s Care Clinic of Pittsburgh
in 1994. The director of the clinic was a member of my church,”
she recalls. “I started as a counselor to young moms for a couple
of years and then the role of ‘parenting instructor’ became
available. Of course, I was a grandmother by then and all the
memories and skills were fresh in my mind. And because my
husband and I had been foster parents, we had already taken all
the necessary classes through Children & Youth Services. I think
all of my time taking care of babies and kids has led me here.”
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Over the years, Barrett has developed a parenting course that
includes four classes, each about two hours long. “The first is
called ‘Welcome Home Baby,’ and teaches how to care for your
newborn once you get home from the hospital,” she explains.
“I teach moms and dads how to clean the umbilical cord or
circumcision, bathe the babies, diaper them and launder their
clothes. We also cover things like the first 24 hours, jaundice,
colic, nursing or bottle-feeding and how to handle a crying baby.
It’s all things new parents have never learned before and they’re
grateful to have the information.”
The second, third and fourth classes cover a myriad of topics,
including everything from how to keep a baby healthy, SIDS,
and helping to develop a baby’s personality, to safety tips, rules
for raising kids, how to manage a good “time out” and proper
clothing, furniture and baby gates.
“It’s amazing to me the products new moms think they need
when, in fact, not much is needed, and we cover that in class,”
Barrett notes.
And for the dads, she has developed “12 Steps to Being a
Better Dad,” and says, “I’m always amazed at the dads who come
to class. They’re very respectful, look me in the eye and take what
I’m saying seriously.”
Barrett is proud that her parenting course guidebook is used by
three other Women’s Care Clinics in the U.S. She’s also been the
recipient of two awards for her volunteerism—the 2007 Jefferson
Award and the President’s Volunteer Service Award, for which
she was given a certificate signed by President George W. Bush
that read, “In recognition and appreciation of your commitment
to strengthen our nation and make a difference through
volunteerism.”
After recovering from a broken leg late last year, Dottie Barrett
is happy to be heading back into the clinic and watching the
soon-to-be moms mature into new parents.
Women’s Care Clinic of Pittsburgh is located in the South
Hills. In addition to the classes, the clinic offers lab-grade
pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, STD testing and treatment. For
more information, call 412.833.7445. ■