Recently, EverThrive Illinois hosted our 4th Annual Community Baby Shower at the Lawndale Christian Fitness Center. Every year, this event is held at the end of National Infant Immunization Week to raise awareness and educate new and expectant parents about the importance of infant vaccinations.
The event came to life when pregnant/new parents arrived. You could feel the sense of community in the room. There was love from the grandparents and partners of the birthing people who came to support them, and the babies and young children who tagged along with their parents made everyone smile and laugh.
The event included a presentation on immunizations for our guests, followed by a birth equity presentation and a panel of nurses from the Chicago Department of Public Health’s birth equity team. This panel allowed guests to ask questions, both directly to the nurses and anonymously, creating a safe space where people felt they had a voice and could express their concerns without judgment. During the event, there was also a bingo game, food, a raffle, and a giveaway.
While the Community Baby Shower is a space where people can learn and connect with others, many of these new and expectant parents view community events like this as a cushion, especially in a time when health care is becoming more inaccessible to birthing people.
Felicia Jones, a mom-to-be to twins, shared with us why events like the Community Baby Shower are important: “If community events like these did not exist, I wouldn’t have as much support, because I don’t have a lot of that from family and friends. I would probably be less informed about a lot of postpartum and prenatal stuff that I probably wouldn’t have known if I didn’t come today.”
A component of the Reproductive Justice framework is raising children in safe and sustainable communities, and a part of that sustainability is meeting community members’ needs. Our Community Baby Shower allows us to meet birthing people where they are and provides information, resources, and materials to support them on their journey into parenthood. In addition to presentations on immunization and birth equity, we host vendors every year so our guests can learn which organizations can offer the support and services they need. Every family that attends the baby shower also leaves with a diaper bag full of clothing, hygiene products, a playpen, diapers, and more.
This day is always special for the families that we serve. Crystal Sawyer, another guest at the baby shower, says, “I loved the community baby shower! Great and important information was shared, and I gained a lot of knowledge.” The information and knowledge Crystal referenced is what helps marginalized birthing people move through a system and society that has shown them that they aren’t valued. While we can’t make up for reproductive injustice, we can empower those who attend by offering support and helping them realize they and their children matter and are valued, and that for us is success.