In southwest Ohio, an organization called Healthy Moms & Babes
is quietly revolutionizing maternal and infant care.
Charla Hale’s heart ached as she witnessed several frustrated women walk to the front desk and cancel their appointments.
“I have to get back to work” was one reason.
“I have to pick up my kids from school” was another.
Hale realized how lucky she was. She was on salary, able to work virtually, with flexible bosses, able to lean on her husband for support when her day did not go as planned.
When all was said and done, Hale’s ob-gyn appointment in Cincinnati, Ohio, took four hours. She managed. But what about the single mothers who were dependent on their hourly wage? Or whose personal schedules weren’t so flexible? Or, most common, who refrained from scheduling an appointment because of all these logistical complications, justifying their decision with the fact that they were “feeling fine” or could “wait until the next one”?
More Time for Mothers
At the time of Hale’s pregnancy, she was working at a local women’s empowerment nonprofit organization as their chief strategy officer for diversity, equity, and inclusion. She had enjoyed her time there but also found herself frustrated and restless. With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there was pressure for the organization to be on the front lines of pro-choice advocacy. All Hale wanted to do was serve women and mothers in the messiness of their pregnancies, not get into politics.
When Hale had her first child, Orlando, she did not receive maternity leave due to the nature of grants the organization received that had restrictions on how money can be used-money that was being used to cover her salary. The irony is not lost on her. The solution, Hale says, is easy: Make maternity leave a federal requirement.
Hale had plenty of paid time off (PTO) saved that she could use for her maternity leave. But what would other mothers do? By the time she used all her PTO, she still was not beyond her ob-gyn’s suggested six weeks of recovery for her C-section. Luckily, her boss was a former nurse who told her to stay at home and work virtually. But, again, what about other mothers? How would that stress to return to work impact both their health as well as their child’s?
“As a developed nation, it’s kind of embarrassing,” Hale reflects. “But in this whole conversation, we get into the issues that women face in how they choose their birth journeys. Those are the issues I wish we could spend more money and resources solving because so much of the other stuff is just noise.”
Hale had no idea at the time that these frustrating experiences would inform her vocation—her next calling and avenue of service at Healthy Moms & Babes (HealthyMomsandBabes.org).
Solving the Problem
When Hale became president and CEO of Healthy Moms & Babes (HMB)—an organization that comes alongside individuals and helps them have access to essential services for healthy pregnancies—she found herself invigorated by the fact that they were meeting a specific problem head-on. Why, in the 21st century, with the ability to schedule regular checkups and ultrasound, perform C-sections, and prescribe medicines, would infant mortality still be a major problem? That is a big question that HMB seeks to answer in its commitment to operating within the nuances of the problem.
Hale’s four-hour visit to the ob-gyn resurfaces often in her mind. It is a microcosm for the real struggles facing poor and working-class pregnant women. When prenatal care is difficult to access, overlooked or undiagnosed issues can threaten the health of the mother as well as increase the likelihood of infant mortality. Ohio has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country (seven per 1,000 births), and Hamilton County (where Cincinnati is located) sits at the center of the crisis.
Many of the women who left the ob-gyn that day did not get the care they needed because of time or financial restrictions. A certain flexibility and financial comfort is often necessary for a pregnant woman to receive standardized care. Many women, Hale explains, bail on their routine appointments because they “feel fine” and opt to stay at work or perform their daily tasks. So, when they do go into labor, and it is discovered they have, for example, gestational diabetes (which requires a three-hour test and analysis, by the way) or have other issues with their pregnancy that may have been caught during prenatal appointments, the infant has less of a chance for survival and the mother’s health is at risk.
Birth outcomes are directly related to the quality (and quantity) of prenatal care.
“We’re still losing babies to moms who said yes,” Hale says. “So, let’s have a conversation about that. Let’s do work in this space because there’s good work to be done to prevent these kinds of complications from ever happening.”
HMB’s influence is multidimensional. Staffers work to facilitate access to prenatal care by addressing barriers like transportation, appointment availability, and employment constraints. They also educate new moms on practical essentials like safe-sleep practices and walk with them through post-delivery challenges, including stress management that can affect both the health of the mother and child. Every step of the way, they help mothers know that they are not alone and provide a shoulder to lean on during the tumults of pregnancy and their postnatal journeys.
Hale is also working to impact legislation and policy. For example, some health insurance agencies have recently begun providing a stipend when mothers attend their routine prenatal visits, which increase to weekly visits toward the end of pregnancy. This stipend helps incentivize pregnant women to attend their appointments, even if that entails missing work. She also educates doctors and nurses on the systemic problems and unconscious bias that mothers of color sometimes face in their prenatal care.
“My goal is to work myself out of a job,” Hale says. “It is a gift to come here every day, even on the hard days. I check in on my staff constantly, knowing that sometimes the days can get hard, but when you see a mom with her baby, and you see the mom confident in how she’s holding her baby and caring for her baby, it makes all of it worth it. It really does.”
Serving the Soul
There were the glaring eyes in the high school halls. There were the insecurities swarming within her. There were the cutting words by those who should have supported her.
“You’re just going to be another statistic,” her parents told her.
“You’re not going to grow up to be anything,” the principal at her high school shamed.
Generra England was 16 and pregnant, facing pressure to terminate the pregnancy if she had any hope of a future. “My faith wouldn’t let me,” England says. “With respect to those who don’t arrive at the same conclusion, I felt like I put myself in this situation. This was my responsibility.”
She knew she’d face constant judgment but pressed forward anyway. All the noise and negativity, however, took a toll. “I was ashamed, depressed,” she reflects. “I was always listening to the negatives. You try to speak things into existence-about who you want to become and how you want to feel-but it’s hard when the negativity is coming from those closest to you.”
England’s grandmother welcomed her in. “My grandmother may have been disappointed but was never one to judge,” she reflects. While England was under the care of her grandmother, an HMB caseworker named “Ms. Queen” also came alongside her. She not only walked with her through her pregnancy—supporting her in care and educating her on what to expect-but also combatted the negativity England received at school each day with spiritual truths.
“She always told me that what was destined for me would find me,” England reflects. “She always told me to not let statistics be the thing that fails me. And she would tell me that I can overcome everything that was meant to destroy me.”
Ms. Queen, England explains, had a daughter who had passed away from cancer. Witnessing Ms. Queen’s strength to keep moving forward amid the gravity of loss, as well as her grandmother’s determination to raise and support her pregnant granddaughter, inspired England to keep hoping and trusting and loving as well.
‘You Can and You Will‘
Two years later, England walked across the stage to receive her diploma from the principal who had shamed her. In the audience, among others, was her grandmother, Ms. Queen, and her 1-year-old son, Ameree’. Today, Ameree’ is a teenager and a standout sprinter in track and field. “He is my best friend,” England beams.
England would go on to attend college, grow her family, and pursue a degree in nursing. For the past eight years, she has been working at HMB as a caseworker, meeting mothers where they are, just as Ms. Queen had done for her. “I didn’t let anything stop me on my journey,” England says. “When I needed a break, I’d take one, but then I’d come back more powerful than when I came in.”
England points to a bulletin board behind her that is filled with affirmations—spiritual truths Ms. Queen shared with her when she was at her lowest, truths that she now shares with vulnerable mothers through her own work at HMB.
“I am love, I am capable, I am brave, I am creative—Ms. Queen always told me that, and all these things became instilled in me as I got older,” England reflects. “I just want women, no matter their circumstance, to know, ‘You can and you will. Don’t let anyone doubt you or get in your head. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re not capable.’ I want them to know, ‘You can overcome. You will overcome. Just keep going. Your story is not written until you write it. So just keep striving. You don’t stay down for long, and when you speak positivity into the world, into existence, that’s what you become.'”
This is the first article in a series that looks at rebuilding God’s Church in the spirit of St. Francis!
