Community baby shower offers resourceful space for expecting moms
- Binta Kanteh
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
The African American Babies Coalition (AABC), an initiative housed within the Wilder Foundation, hosted its first community baby shower in celebration of Black Maternal Health, which took place earlier in the month.
The idea for the baby shower evolved from a long-standing partnership between AABC and Planned Parenthood of North Central States and its CEO, Ruth Richardson.
Doyella Smith, AABC’s Program Supervisor, led coordination of the gathering for expecting moms and their families. For Smith, incorporating the event within Black Maternal Health Week and ahead of Mother’s Day helped amplify the draw to the evening event. Her goal in crafting the gathering was to ensure mothers know what resources are available at Wilder and there’s a village willing to support them.
“I would like for them to feel like they received enough resources, and for them to feel like Wilder/AABC is a support to them overall and to reach back out to us if they were in need of anything. We also have our Family Community, Maternal Community Corner on the first floor of Wilder for diapers and any type of resources that we have available to them,” Smith said.
Christina Roberts, 40, a salon owner from St. Paul, came to the shower because she is expecting her first child and thought it would be a great opportunity to learn more about the supports available to her.
“There's a lot of information, but how to access it isn't in the same room,” said Roberts. “You may have your county help, your family help, but knowing all your options is a nice thing to have a quick walk through of. Normally a baby shower is just about the meatballs and the food, but this one was a little bit more about education. Being pregnant, I don't know what to ask, but having someone put something in front of me, it spurs questions.”
Tekeshia Lewis, 29, from St. Paul’s East Side, came with her daughter who is four months. Lewis participates in other AABC events with her other children and was moved to support the community baby shower.
“I brought some things to donate – zero (infant) to 3 clothes and breastfeeding items. (I also came) to connect to other moms.” said Lewis.
The baby shower included more than a dozen vendors, all of whose resources support mothers and their new babies.
One of the vendors, Andrea Lawson, is the owner of Afterthought Expressions, a gift and accessory shop inspired by Ghanaian heritage. Lawson is also a maternal health strategist who came to the gathering as a business owner and as a supporter of the community baby shower concept.
“As we know, it takes a village and AABC creates a lot of equitable opportunities for especially Black families and Black moms, whether it's doula training or how to help families navigate the challenges of being a Black parent or a caregiver,” Lawson said.
Spring Mason, 34, whose older sister Autumn Mason, AABC’s senior program associate, was compelled to volunteer because she hadn’t seen a gathering like it before.
“I really wanted to be a part of something like this because you don't really hear about a community baby shower. That is so dope to me,” Mason said. “Some of the moms expressed to me that they didn't have anything and if it wasn't for this event, they wouldn't have anything (for the baby). I've had a few women share their stories, it is beautiful.”
The Black Mamas Matter Alliance reports that while Medicaid covers 42% of births in the U.S., it covers 60% of births to Black mothers. With the Trump administration's trillion dollar cut to Medicaid over the next decade, the alliance worries about the impending impact to maternal healthcare.
Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) questioned U.S Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. during a Congressional House Committee on Education and Workforce hearing about President Trump’s attacks on research and initiatives made to improve Black maternal health outcomes across the country.
“Your agency told programs to remove a list of nearly 200 words and phrases from their funding applications, including the word ‘Black,’” Lee said during the committee. “How are we going to solve the Black maternal mortality crisis if we cannot say ‘Black’?”