Ciara, Kelly Rowland and more are helping with Baby2Baby’s latest initiative to focus on moms’ mental health

Child2ChildThe national nonprofit organization that has been providing basic necessities to children living in poverty for 13 years is expanding its mission in a way that goals to combat the maternal mortality rate within the United States, with the assistance of musicians and mothers Ciara Wilson and Kelly Rowland.

“We are thrilled to announce the expansion of the Baby2Baby initiative to fight maternal mortality,” Weinstein and Sawyer Patricof said in an announcement. “This generous donation from Huggies will allow us to provide essential supplies to new moms immediately after giving birth in ten states.”

They added: “The lack of funds for basic newborn supplies has a huge impact on the mother’s mental health and that is why these kits are so important not only for the baby but also for the mother.”

According to the discharge, Baby2Baby is funding this latest initiative after receiving a multi-million dollar grant from Huggies, a diaper and baby products brand. The kits, distributed in 10 states, contain items essential to the health and well-being of mother and baby, including diapers, hygiene products, breastfeeding supplies, postpartum care and educational materials. The program goals to address the mental health problems with young moms who cannot afford the critical items their children desperately need.

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This initiative is very timely on condition that maternal mental health has been identified as certainly one of the leading causes of maternal mortality, disproportionately affecting Black moms. Currently, during The maternal mortality rate in America is 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live birthsBlack moms are 2.6 times more likely to die during childbirth or from complications in the primary two years after giving birth.

Last 12 months, after the Biden administration chosen Baby2Baby for a pilot program with the Department of Health and Human Services to combat the maternal mortality crisis, the organization launched the initiative in three states with the best rates of maternal mortality and child poverty: Louisiana, Arkansas and New Mexico. States that will likely be added to the initiative include California, New York, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.

During their visit to Baby2Baby’s headquarters, Rowland and Wilson also participated in a brief panel discussion in regards to the initiative.

Rowland, a mother of two sons, thanked the nonprofit’s CEOs and Huggies, saying, “The Baby2Baby initiative to combat maternal mortality is very personal to me because Black mothers are more than three to four times more likely to die after childbirth. It’s very irritating and incredibly heartbreaking. We should live in a world where no mother can fall through the cracks of a broken maternal health system.”

Rowland noted that as she packed the kittens, she thought in regards to the moms who would receive essential supplies during this often “vulnerable” and “scary” time.

She continued: “Not having to worry about how you’re going to change your baby’s diaper is truly a gift. While we cannot solve the maternal mortality crisis alone today, this initiative is an important part of a very complex and necessary solution to improve mothers’ mental health, the leading cause of maternal mortality, by providing basic products they absolutely do not need. needed at the most critical moment after birth.”

Wilson, a mother of 4, said she remembers what it felt like to have her first child and how lucky she was to be surrounded by a support system that answered the entire latest mothers’ many questions.

“I was lucky to have a great support system along the way,” she noted. “But I also learned lots about what number of women do not have the care I could have. That’s why my mother’s health is so vital to me. The devastating increase in maternal mortality within the US is really devastating to me as a girl of color. All over the world, women die from preventable complications before, during and after childbirth.

She added: “Today is a step in the right direction towards solving this crisis.”