I’m a well-resourced mom, but I had no idea until I started working with First Year Cleveland that if you follow the ABCDs of safe sleep — putting babies to bed Alone, on their Back, in a Crib and Don’t smoke — the likelihood of them not waking up is super slim. Safe sleep recommendations have changed drastically over the past 20 years, and that’s why we must be so vigilant about making the message widespread. We now know what parents did for their children a generation ago can increase infant mortality.

We lose 21 babies a year in Cleveland, a full kindergarten class, to preventable, sleep-related deaths. You don’t want your child to be one of those babies. We want to decrease those numbers to eventually make sure that happens zero times.

In our work, we have a few mothers and grandmothers who show up to events to tell their story of losing their children due to unsafe sleep practices. These were children that were otherwise healthy, no health complications. But they were put to sleep in ways that weren’t safe for them and the unthinkable happened — they suffocated. We’re very fortunate that these women are brave enough to make sure it doesn’t happen to other families.

With families, we walk a fine line between not telling people they were wrong, like we’re judging their parenting or that we’re assuming they don’t love their children. Parents want their babies to be safe and they want them to sleep well, so we must tell them why the ABCDs of safe sleep are so important. Most parents by and large want to do what’s best for their children; we just have to make it accessible.

We do hear a small amount of pushback to the new guidelines, particularly about having babies sleep alone in their crib. Some parents are very into attachment parenting, where they sleep in the same bed with the child for bonding purposes. And that’s well-intentioned, but there are so many things that need to go exactly right for it to be safe. When it’s 2 a.m., and you’re completely exhausted, can you guarantee you can do all of those things correctly?

When you know better, you do better. Now that you have new information, what are you going to do with it? Safe Sleep isn’t just a program for parents. It’s for any and everybody. Because at some point, you either know an infant or influence the way they go to sleep. We’re looking at behavior change and that usually takes five to seven years. Everybody invested in turning these numbers around is working on a much shorter time frame. We’re looking for a movement, not a moment.

After I learned about CenteringPregnancy at a doctor’s appointment, the thing I really liked about it was that you can bounce ideas and questions off of other women who are expecting at around the same time. A doctor or midwife and nurse practitioner are also there so you get updated, expert medical knowledge too.

In our group, all the women were expecting babies only about two weeks apart. So, it basically felt like we were all going through the same things at the same time. We had a chance to clear up the myths we heard from other people. It made me feel really comfortable.

We had a chance to ask questions. A few people, for example, had “heard” that breastfeeding was really painful, or that formula is healthier, and both of those aren’t true (although breastfeeding can hurt a little at first … but breastmilk provides a lot of benefits to babies).

What I love most about CenteringPregnancy was that it was OK to say if we were wondering if something was normal or find out if some change was happening to other people at the same time. We could relate to things instead of worrying about them. It was very informative.

One thing we noticed was that there were a lot of differences in what people did from generation to generation. Family members sometimes still try to do what they were told to do a long time ago, which was what doctors said then but isn’t recommended anymore. Grandparents and parents were doing their best at the time and using the best information available then, but when you know better, you can do better, with more recent information.

Safe sleep was an important area that has changed. Now we know that babies should be alone, on their back, in a crib (or pack-n-play), and no one should smoke in a house where a baby spends time. They even told us that if moms or dads need a safe place for the baby to sleep, there are programs where you can get free pack-n-plays.

We had a chance to have parents and support people come to join sessions, and they were excited to learn new ways to do things and to hear answers to their questions from medical professionals.

All of the moms were so supportive. We could talk about what did or didn’t work for us during pregnancy and even after our babies were born. I still talk to the moms from my group almost every day! We share pictures of our babies and what they’re doing at each stage now and share ideas for baby food or other things. Women who had a baby 20 years ago or two years ago might forget some of the little details of how they were feeling at each little step, but we are all going through it together right now, at the same time. We really encourage each other.

Her focus with First Year Cleveland is understanding the role race and maternal stress play in infant deaths. If you ask Christin about the organization’s five-year plan, there are intentions to expand far past Northeast Ohio. But, for now, the impact is just what the region needs.

I’ve known that I wanted to be a midwife since I was 16. I carry that passion into the work I’m currently doing: making sure women have access to woman-centered care. If that care can’t be delivered by an institution such as a hospital, then there should be a village around the mom to support her as she successfully carries out her pregnancy and labors through the birth of her child. That village should also stay on deck that first year of her child’s life when she so desperately needs it.

When I had my first child (as a student at Kent State University), I was well-supported by my family — both my family at home in Cleveland and my friends at college. We all lived off-campus together, so we were a little family of our own. Now, I certainly had my moments, especially within the first three months, where I struggled during that adjustment to life with a new baby. Nobody talks about that with you. You’re prepared during the pregnancy because you get all this information at your prenatal visits, but after the baby gets here, nobody tells you, “Hey, it’ll be difficult to take a shower or find time to eat.”

I’ve always felt that, as a society, we have not been supportive of reproduction. I just find it to be so odd that systems and policies are not set up to receive families. Even though I didn’t realize my dream of becoming a midwife, I pursued work as a doula, which led me to found Birthing Beautiful Communities.

Birthing Beautiful Communities is designed to take in moms who are at least 16 weeks pregnant — the sooner, the better. First, we assign each mom a perinatal support professional. They do so much more than just attend prenatal visits or the labor and delivery. They are literally embedded into the daily lives of these women, for at least 80 weeks. Their scope is far beyond what people imagine when they think of a doula. We have weekly classes, Sisters Offering Support, for our moms, which are designed to help the women identify what they’re experiencing — stress, depression, anxiety, panic and fear — and give them tools to navigate these experiences or remove them altogether.

The majority of women who experience these things don’t know what to call them. They may say “Oh, I was tripping” or “I’m just mad.” Part of the problem is if they can’t articulate what they’re feeling, then it’s hard to address it. Addressing anxiety is different than addressing fear. It’s important that they identify those feelings, so they can get the proper solution. The best part of this work is seeing women becoming more empowered than when they started off. We see women from all walks of life, all different socioeconomic backgrounds. But the consensus has been that they need this continuous support in their lives. It does increase your self-esteem and your confidence when you know you have someone you can reach out to, who can get you back on track.

I love seeing women come out of a place of hopelessness to a place of optimism, because they have also met other women who are only here to help them and not judge them. Walking into this space for them is a relief. They come here and think, “I can be who I am.”

“This is literally my life’s work. This is what I was born to do. I understand that, I respect that — and I love it.”

When I hear stories from the families, or when we get a call from another state talking about replication, all these little things remind me how necessary our work is. For example, two weeks ago, we got a call from one of the hospitals. They were referring a patient to us. The social worker called 28 agencies before she called ours. Things like this remind me why we exist. This need is why we’re building our own campus with 20 units of short-term housing: the systems are overburdened with people. We haven’t figured out how to build pipelines.

We know that black infant mortality is not a poverty problem — women of all socioeconomic levels and backgrounds are at the same risk. There are two main things that black infant mortality boils down to — racism and patriarchy. Those are the drivers of it. There is not woman-centered care in this country, and women historically have not made the policies that impact families.

Part of the reason we see these higher rates in black communities is a lack of representation in these medical spaces. Our history has prevented us from having opportunities and resources, so now there’s a lack of black doctors and midwives. Across Cuyahoga County, we only have three black midwives who are licensed to catch babies. That’s inequity. Now, black women are saying, “The doctors aren’t listening to us.” They don’t feel comfortable with their providers, but they don’t have many options. That’s because most of the providers are white males. You’ve got to even the playing field, and then we can talk about what’s going on with our policies.

See, there’s a difference between programs and pipelines. Programs are supposed to be short-term. Programs aren’t meant to last 30 years. That’s what we’ve gotten wrong. Pipelines are used to sustain people. You’re supposed to equip people with the tools they need to survive so they have the tools to support their family. If racism and patriarchy aren’t addressed in our programming, then we’re not moving toward a place of equity. Everything else we do is null and void. It’s only going to change what we see today, but not what we see in the future.

I had my first child when I was 14. I was young and it was very, very hard. I was in the eighth grade, and administrators didn’t really want me to be seen, so they kept me in the office, doing work there. I managed to make it through, but it was really hard.

Everything started when I lost my father in fifth grade. After he passed away, I struggled so hard. I was running away from home, giving my mom all types of trouble. I didn’t know anything about sexuality. I was just searching for something to fill that void.

I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t know what was going on with my body. I gave birth on April 13, but I didn’t have my first doctor’s appointment until that February. My life was filled with stares, snickering and whispering. Luckily, my mother was a good support system after it all happened and she helped me through the hardest parts.

“I learned so much in those sessions — everything from how to care for my body during pregnancy to how to alleviate and manage my stress.”

Five years later, when I was pregnant with my second child, I came to one of my prenatal appointments and I saw a flyer for CenteringPregnancy. One of the staff members recommended it to me, saying it would be a great experience. At first, I was hesitant because I wasn’t a people person. Being a young mother, I felt ridiculed a lot of the time. I was dealing with depression and struggling to find an outlet for my stress. I didn’t have a lot of people in my life to turn to. The idea of being with other women, talking about pregnancy and childbirth, was foreign to me.

But I quickly learned that the women in the group were there to support me. I found out that these women were going through the same things I’ve been through. I used Centering as an outlet. I learned so much in those sessions — everything from how to care for my body during pregnancy to how to alleviate and manage my stress. Not only did I have the support, the staff guided me to resources. There were days when I didn’t know where I was going to get things for my child. But, because they directed me to places that could help, it took some of that stress and worry away.

The differences between my first and second births were amazing. After attending Centering with my second, I knew how to handle my labor better. I danced in labor with him. I knew how to manage the contractions with breathing. It was totally different from my first labor. This time, I was better prepared on what to expect. I had an epidural with my first child, but I went natural with my second.

Now that I’m a Centering facilitator, I enjoy every moment — because I’ve been there. I’ve sat in those same seats. I can relate to what they’re going through. I recruit for the program as well. When I hear someone might be interested, I’ll go have a conversation with them to answer any questions they may have. When expectant moms hear about Centering, they think it’s just going to be group discussions, but it’s real prenatal care. You actually get more time with your provider than you would in the traditional setting. The best part is that you’re dealing with women who have something in common.

So many of the women who’ve come through my sessions tell me they have friends who can’t relate. But, in Centering, the other women understand you — and are walking right alongside you.