Flora Hommel

Flora Nadine Suhd was born in 1928 in Detroit, Michigan.^[1] She met Bernard Hommel at age 15 and married at age 18, after his return from World War II.^[2] After becoming pregnant with her first child, she was fearful of painful labor, and was provided a book on natural childbirth authored by Grantly Dick-Read, and experienced an "easy" delivery based on the techniques in the book.^[2][3]

Living in Paris at the time, she studied under Dr. Fernand Lamaze, assisting him with multiple deliveries in 1951.^[4] She also trained as a monitrice under Dr. Lamaze.^[5] She returned to Detroit in 1953, aiming to educate American women on the benefits of using the Lamaze technique for child delivery.^[6] She enrolled at Wayne State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in nursing in 1958.^[7]

After graduating with her nurses degree, Hommel began teaching the Lamaze method out of her home.^[7] In 1960, Hommel founded the Childbirth Without Pain Association.^[4] In 1964, this organization became the nonprofit Childbirth Without Pain Education Association.^[1] Hommel served on the national board of the International Childbirth Education Association from 1964 through 1968 in recognition of her "outstanding contributions" in the field of obstetrics.^[8] She was also an honorary life member of the American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics.^[9] From 1973 to 1990, Hommel served on the Detroit Health Commission. She was also a national board member for the Gray Panthers.^[8]

Hommel campaigned for improvements to social security and advocated for a single-payer healthcare system.^[2] By 1989, Hommel had taught Lamaze to over 17,000 couples, and coached over 1,000 women through their deliveries.^[10] In 1994, Hommel was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame for her lifelong commitment to "giving women a greater say in their childbirth experience".^[8] Hommel died on May 15, 2015, of complications from Alzheimer's disease in Detroit.^[11]