Topic: Addressing Maternal Mental Health Disparities through Community Engagement and Peer-Driven Support
Organization: Best Babies Zone Westlawn
Organization Type: Community-Based Organization
Location (city/state): Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Special or Vulnerable Population: Public Housing, Nursing and soon-to-be mothers
Challenges: Disparities in maternal and infant mortality rates, stigma and taboo
Promising Practice: Storytelling about birth stories, community members as program ambassadors
Milwaukee’s Best Babies Zone (BBZ) initiative is a multi-sector, peer-driven collaboration, designed to lower infant mortality rates and improve maternal health in areas with racial health inequities. Launched in 2018, the Milwaukee BBZ focuses on the Westlawn neighborhood through the Choice Neighborhood Initiative of the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee and began by gathering community members to share their stories on maternal mortality. These gatherings expanded in 2019 to workshops facilitated by Ex Fabula, a local storytelling nonprofit. Five participants from these workshops were selected to share their birth stories at a StorySlam and later became the first wellness ambassadors.
BBZ collaborated with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) College of Nursing and the UWM Masters in Sustainable Peace Building Program on releasing a Resource Guide that compiled community resources and emphasized holistic wellness, encompassing physical, emotional, financial, and social aspects. The initiative also involved the Maroon Calabash organization in a Doula Pilot Project to provide free doula services and pregnancy loss support to families. In 2021, the BBZ team received UMBUTU equity training and Community Health Worker (CHW) training to bolster outreach efforts.
Additional community engagement activities included the Santa Funfair, Virtual Talent Show, Family Fun in the Garden, Community Baby Shower, Pregnancy Resource Fair, the African American Breastfeeding Network’s Lift Up Every Baby celebration, and Stories in the Garden. These efforts collectively aim to improve maternal and infant health outcomes through community-driven, comprehensive care strategies.
Source Link:
Webinar 1: Nurturing Mothers: A Webinar Series on Breastfeeding Support and Maternal Mental Health