#NATALChats — NATAL

Join us for an afternoon with NATAL and Maternal Mental Health NOW about ways to support Black families at every stage of the NICU journey.

We're passing the mic to Black parents, birthworkers, providers, and advocates to hear their neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) experiences, in their own words. The session will also highlight important mental health, financial, medical, and community resources that Black families can tap into as they navigate their NICU journeys. This is a free event. Closed captioning available.

Meet our Speakers

Ebony Harvey (she/her)

Birth Doula, @thepurposenurse

Nurse Eb is a registered nurse, holistic fertility and birth doula, lactation education specialist, and a certified peer support specialist with a specialty in maternal mental health. She works with individuals and organizations to raise awareness, challenge the status quo, and become change agents surrounding injustices in healthcare. She is also the owner of In Harmony and Health Fertility, Birth, and Wellness where her mission is empowering parents who desire a natural birth with holistic health alternatives so they can heal their bodies, conceive naturally, and birth with dignity. In addition, Nurse Eb is the founder of Heal Black Birth, a non-profit organization that seeks to raise awareness and change the narrative surrounding the black maternal health crisis and reduce black infant mortality rates. With over 18 years of nursing-related experience and countless encounters with systemic racism, implicit bias, and health disparities in the healthcare system, she uses her background expertise to help families and individuals make informed decisions and navigate the pitfalls of the healthcare system.

Lakethia Jones (she/her)

Mother and NICU Community Advocate

Lakethia Jones is a retired stay at-home mom of two daughters Caylie and Calie. Calie was a NICU baby born 14 weeks early weighing 475 grams (1.04 oz) and stayed in the hospital 339 for days. Lakethia has been advocating for herself and other NICU parents for 8 months. Prior to being a stay at-home mother, she was in the military as a counselor for 10 years. During that time she earned her B.S in Child and Family Welfare and an MBA. Lakethia’s goals are to continue to nurture her daughter's development and help families navigate the NICU, especially women of color both in and outside of the hospital.

Jessica Wade (she/her)

Founder & CEO of Mighty Little Giants; Certified Doula

Mighty Little Giants, Inc. (MLG), a National 501(c)(3) Organization that supports families with babies in the NICU by providing , monthly peer-to-peer mentoring, emergency financial support, as well as life after the NICU life skills. MLG’s mission is to bridge and stand in the gap for families with babies in the NICU by embracing MLG’s core values – Integrity, Compassion and Encouragement – ultimately giving them peace and becoming their light during their dark and difficult season. Jessica has spent the last 10 years working in her community, advocating for underserved women, children and families. Her passion for NICU families and mothers experiencing preterm births developed as a result of her personal experience of being hospitalized on total bedrest for eight weeks, prior to delivering her first son 12-weeks prematurely. Once her son was released from the NICU after his 143-day stay, she made a promise to herself that I would do everything in my power to help families that experience similar situations. Mrs. Wade is a Certified Doula, a Lactation Education Specialist with a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Administration.

MODERATOR - ANNA KING (she/her)

Clinical Training Specialist, Maternal Mental Health NOW

Anna is a licensed clinical social worker and certified perinatal mental health specialist who uses an integrative, trauma-informed approach in her work grounded in reproductive and transformative justice. She is currently a part-time psychotherapist with ARC Counseling and Wellness, and a 3rd year Ph.D. student in the Integral and Transpersonal Psychology program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). Her research interests include spiritual activism, the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) trait, birth and postpartum traditions, and the transition to parenthood as a rite of passage. Anna also currently serves as Clinical Training Specialist with Maternal Mental Health NOW where she curates online training curriculum and facilitates live, in-person and virtual trainings to educate the community on perinatal mental health. Prior to joining the MMH-NOW team, Anna served as a clinical social worker in the NICU and maternal child health units, as well as the emergency department at Emanate Health.

ABOUT NATAL

NATAL is a docuseries about having a baby while Black. We pass the microphone to parents to share their stories in their own words. The series also highlights the birthworkers, medical professionals, and advocates fighting daily for better care and outcomes for Black birthing parents. Season Two focuses on the stories of Black birthing parents, medical providers, birthworkers, and advocates across rural America. We’ll highlight the rich traditions, structural challenges, and history of grassroots advocacy that make rural America not only a center of innovation for reproductive health care and access, but a place worthy of having its stories told for the world to hear. Listen and subscribe to NATAL wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us @natalstories on Instagram and Twitter.

ABOUT MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH NOW

Maternal Mental Health NOW grew out of one woman’s ordeal. After the birth of her daughter, Kimberly Wong, Esq. suffered from such severe postpartum depression that she wanted to end her life. Despite good healthcare and strong familial and social support, she struggled to find informed help. Kimberly formed a group in 2007 that would become Mental Health NOW. The mission of Maternal Mental Health NOW Is to remove barriers to the prevention, screening and treatment of prenatal and postpartum depression.

BLACK IN NICU

WITH MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH NOW