Get Involved: Pregnancy and Childbirth
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Topics Include:
Activism
Birth
Birth Care Options
Pregnancy
Prevention
Social Justice
Volunteer
To get involved with activism that supports pregnancy and childbirth with dignity, safety, and freedom, our experts recommend that you explore the following organizations. These recommendations are not necessarily endorsements, since organizations can change over time, and it’s important to find a group that fits your values.
March for Moms aligns the advocacy efforts of families, health care providers, industry, policymakers, and other partners in order to ensure that all families can grow with dignity. They provide a Maternal Advocacy Toolkit to enable people to advocate for the rights of mothers and birthing people, and they host an annual march in Washington, D.C.
National Birth Equity Collaborative
The National Birth Equity Collaborative creates transnational solutions that optimize Black maternal, infant, sexual, and reproductive wellbeing. They work in research, advocacy, policy, and media to fight for Black maternal justice.
Philadelphia Midwife Collective
The Philadelphia Midwife Collective is an independent midwifery practice providing reproductive health services in Philadelphia with a focus on equity and social justice. They also host in-person support groups, such as their free weekly infant feeding support group.
The White Ribbon Alliance advocates for women’s and girls’ health, rights, and gender equality by asking women what they want, listening to their responses and ideas, and taking action accordingly. The Alliance works internationally, supporting women’s campaigns that advocate for policy change around maternal and reproductive healthcare from Malawi to Nigeria to Pakistan.
Every Mother Counts (EMC) works to improve access to maternity care around the world by partnering with organizations that serve historically marginalized communities. They provide grants, training for birth care workers, medical equipment, and other resources that are culturally relevant to the respective community. They also focus on raising awareness through storytelling, filmmaking and data research. Volunteers can organize fundraising campaigns and events, advocate for policy changes, run races and marathons to bring awareness, and participate in email writing campaigns.
Postpartum Support International
Postpartum Support International works to promote awareness, prevention, and treatment of mental health issues related to childbearing worldwide among the public and professionals through advocacy and education efforts. Volunteers can staff the HelpLine (which has a required time commitment), serve as a support coordinator who helps people find resources, serve as a peer mentor for other guardians with perinatal mental health disorders, facilitate online support groups, and participate in a variety of other opportunities, such as writing blog posts.
Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP)
The Homeless Prenatal Program is a resource center based in San Francisco that serves low income prenatal and postpartum women. They strive to break the cycle of childhood poverty by providing client services, housing assistance, family support, access to a wellness center, mental & parental services, a community health worker apprenticeship program, and temporary shelter. Volunteer opportunities are limited, but sometimes volunteer assistance is needed to staff events, sort donations, help prep food bags, and stuff envelopes.
