Programs
The Mother Baby Foundation team believes that happy mothers are a key element in fostering healthy babies. The foundation employs a creed that motherhood is more than just about surviving…it’s about thriving!!!! To date, the Foundation has activated five programs that are designed to empower new babies and mothers to thrive.
The first, known as Mother Baby “PEP Talks” (short for Postpartum Emotion with Possibilities), is a support group for mothers of new babies. PEP Talks are held weekly, situated in an upbeat environment with afternoon tea and treats. The discussions are led by a licensed therapist and focus on the mothers’ successes and concerns, free of charge to the attendees (with all costs covered by the Foundation). PEP Talks are designed to offer support and solutions for those moms experiencing overwhelming emotion, “baby blues”, or even full-fledged postpartum depression.
Building upon the success of PEP Talks, the Foundation has collaborated with the High Point YWCA to add sessions specifically tailored to those overwhelming emotions experienced by the growing population of adolescent (teen) mothers. The supplemental program, called “Teen Talks”, is a support and educational group for teen mothers who are 14-18 years old, are enrolled in school, and are pregnant or parenting for the first time. Discussions not only focus on postpartum emotions but also issues specific to adolescent mothers, such as pressure to continue in school, lack of support at home, and in many instances financial burdens. Ultimately, the program aims to help these new moms develop coping strategies so that they may better adjust to their new roles as mothers, continue in school and give back to the community.
The third active program, known as “Baby Bundles”, is the provision of essential baby items to mothers in need via healthcare services organizations. A Baby Bundle is a gift bag comprised of diapers and three-to-four clothing outfits for a specific aged baby along with at least one blanket and a toy. The first set of Baby Bundles gift bags were created in early 2009 and donated to the Guilford County Health Department Nursing Services teams and also to the High Point YWCA Baby Basics Closet. The Maternity Care Coordinators for these organizations, in turn, are discovering need as they meet with families of new babies, and the Baby Bundles are provided to the families during the visit. The Mother Baby Foundation is equipped to collect donations to support this program on an ongoing basis and plans to organize the contents into Baby Bundles several times throughout the year.
In 2010, the Foundation launched Triad Nursing Moms and our Optimal Nutrition program.
Looking ahead, the Mother Baby Foundation is evaluating several opportunities to provide prenatal and postpartum education. As an example, the Foundation has already initiated lectures and mentoring in support of the Health and Human Resources Adminstration’s (HRSA’s) “Business Case for Breastfeeding”. This program strives to help corporations with improve employee retention, lower absenteeism, and reduce healthcare costs, all while allowing the mother and baby to experience the health benefits of breastfeeding.
Further, the Foundation is collaborating with Triad healthcare organizations and with a well-known postnatal products manufacturer to derive requirements and costs involved to launch a breast pump award program. This program will be geared to helping moms overcome the tremendous expense of a breast pump in order to allow them to continue breast feeding even after they return to work. The Foundation recognizes that many women must return to work in order to provide basic needs for their family, and the pump program will allow those qualified mothers to offer the nourishment of breast milk to their baby while they do so.
