Telling Tales.

Last September, the legendary Elizabeth Seton Childbearing Center at St. Vincent's Hospital closed its doors because of soaring insurance premiums associated with its child delivery unit. Erica Lyon, Seton's education coordinator, knew she had a surefire winner on her hands when she decided to open her own childbirth and postpartum education center nearby. Lyon, who started Realbirth with loans from devoted Seton supporters, has hired two full-time and eight part-time teachers and anticipates revenues of $300,000 this year. Much sooner than she expected, Lyon found herself running to catch up with the accelerating pace of her enterprise.