MS Coast community baby shower aims to improve health by connecting moms with resources
In a state often known for its high infant and maternal mortality rates, dozens of expectant and new mothers and their families pushed strollers and held young children as they received free diapers, entered raffles for car seats and talked to vendors about breastfeeding Thursday night.
The families were attending a community baby shower event at Lyman Community Center in Gulfport, aimed at providing support and resources for moms in order to help improve health outcomes in the state.
The event, hosted by Molina Healthcare of Mississippi — which is a provider of Medicaid and marketplace insurance plans in Mississippi — and Coastal Family Health, invited expectant mothers of all backgrounds to connect with local resources, win door prizes and receive free goodie bags of diapers, wipes and bottles.
Frances Moody, a manager at Molina Healthcare of Mississippi, said the purpose of the event is to give mothers the resources they need and provide more information about being pregnant, postpartum care and mental health.
“A lot of times mothers have issues with mental health, especially postpartum, and a lot of moms aren’t aware of that,” Moody said. “We’ve had speakers that speak on mental health, the importance of breast feeding, the importance of making sure that their children stay up to date on their immunizations, things like that.”
Moody says that during these baby shower events, they try to connect mothers with resources that they may not be exposed to otherwise.
“When we come to these communities, we try to provide them with resources that are necessary with us being a rural state, and a lot of things are not available to all our moms and postpartum moms,” said Moody.
Among the vendors that families could meet with were the State Department of Health, the Gulfport Fire Department, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, SHAY — which stands for sharing health education and awareness — Mom and Me, and Coastal Family Health.
This is the fifth year Molina Healthcare of Mississippi has hosted the event in Gulfport. According to Moody, Molina Healthcare also hosts three more baby shower events at different times of the year in Jackson, Clarksdale and Greenville.
Every year the numbers of attendees at the event grow, Moody said, with some of the baby showers being standing room only. Moody said she also thinks the restrictions on abortion in the state will lead to more women seeking out their resources.
“We’re going to have more instances of infants being born, and I just think these moms need to be armed with the information that they need to have the healthiest pregnancy that they can have,” Moody said. “A lot of the moms may be young and not be aware of all the changes that’s going on within their bodies.”
Two attendees, Kalli Garcia, 19, and her fiance Gavin Rexroad, 20, of Slidell, are expecting a child together in a few months.
Garcia says they are first-time parents and came to the event because they wanted to be more prepared for their baby. According to Garcia, preparing to become a new mother has not been without challenges.
“I guess it really opened my eyes to being what a real adult is,” Garcia said. “Because I am 19, I haven’t really handled a lot of adult things yet, and having a baby really makes you really jump off the deep end with that. I’m gonna be in charge of a life, so I’m gonna have to know all this stuff, and I’m only just learning myself.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2022 Mississippi had the highest infant mortality rate in the country. Maternal mortality rates in Mississippi are also quite stark. A report released by the Mississippi State Department of Health last year said that maternal mortality rates in Mississippi are on the rise and 80% of pregnancy-related deaths in Mississippi between 2016 and 2020 were deemed preventable.
Facing those grim statistics, the baby showers are a bright spot.
“Every time we have a baby shower, we’re all excited,” Moody said. “It’s exciting when we’re setting up everything and anticipating the people that are going to come, and then we’re grateful for the towns, the areas that allow us to actually come in and provide this for their community.”
Deairra Harrington, 26, of Gulfport, who came to the event with her cousin Donald Dupree, is also grateful.
“It means a lot to me knowing that there’s so much help around, knowing that there’s a community behind us, and a lot of places we can go to and a lot of resources that we have as expecting mothers,” Harrington said.
According to Moody, expecting parents who missed the event can still reach out to Molina Healthcare of Mississippi to be put in contact with any of the vendors in attendance.
This story was originally published November 14, 2024 at 8:34 PM.
