Three weeks ago, Cierra Clowney, 24, of Spartanburg, didn’t know how to swaddle a baby. Two and a half weeks ago, she became a mom.
Clowney is one of the 875 families Hello Family has helped provide free pre-natal and post-natal services, education, and pregnancy and childcare resources to specifically, since October 2021 as part of an initiative aimed to improve the outcomes of children and new mothers in Spartanburg.
Hello Family is comprised of four Spartanburg-based non-profits: Family Connects, BirthMatters, Triple P and Quality Counts. In total, Hello Family has helped more than 1,800 families
“I didn’t know hardly anything about raising a child and they can explain everything and help you with that whole process,” said Clowney. “They are there step-by-step. They will not leave you.”
Clowney relied on a Doula from the non-profit BirthMatters, a person experienced in the process of childbearing who coaches and mentors those experiencing pregnancy.
According to the results of a simulated study conducted by the Washington D.C.-based think-tank, Urban Institute, from Jan. 1 – Dec. 1 2022, Hello Family would have helped to decrease NICU admissions by 0.9% and low birth weights by 6.7%.
“What we have is without Hello Family, low birth weights would be almost double, it’s telling us that NICU admissions would be a little higher and it’s telling us there would be more avoidable emergency room visits,” said Kaitlin Watts, director of Center for Early Childhood Success at Spartanburg Academic Movement.
For Clowney, her nearly three-week-old baby boy, Kendrick Clowney, brings a smile to her face when she looks at him and also at times, stress.
“I definitely would be very stressed out [without BirthMatters], I don’t know how I would really make it honestly,” said Clowney. She said she still suffers from Postpartum Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of giving birth and regularly goes to therapy.
Clowney admitted for her to get the help she needed, she had to swallow her pride.
“I reached out because you need help,” said Clowney. “You do need help. It takes a lot for me to put things aside, and accept help and that’s what I had to learn to do.”
“We’re a community and a community helps one another,” said Watts. “We serve one another. So, these kids we’re talking about right now, one day, they’re going to be your neighbors. They might be the ones serving you in the stores. Our goal is to be the best we can be and have the strongest and healthiest community and that’s what this is doing.”
Another new mom who has utilized the services of Hello Family is Yasmin Wilson, 27. Her two-month-old daughter, Ysabella, was born in March. Before then, she said she had no idea how to feed a newborn baby.
“All the resources that [my Doula] gave me as far as being able to prepare myself and my body, and then having issues with [Ysabella] after she was born; having those resources has been so helpful,” said Wilson.
Wilson and Clowney say they relied on their Doulas from BirthMatters to get them through their pregnancy. But there are more services that Hello Family offers like having a registered nurse from Family Connects, a branch of Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, make home visits to check up on the mother’s and baby’s health.
Anjonique Fernanders is one of those nurses who says she was initially surprised by the number of mothers who didn’t know much about raising a newborn child when she started working with Family Connects two years ago.
“Some moms may not be aware, ‘Well what should my baby be gaining?’ and ‘What should my baby be eating?’, so we want to relay that information to them,” said Fernanders.
Fernanders said one thing many new mothers should be looking for is high blood pressure. It’s something she checks when she makes home visits.
“Parenting is challenging,” said Fernanders. “Giving them the resources can help better support them.”
Watts said as of now Hello Family is only available to those in the City of Spartanburg’s limits but is in the process of expanding and will complete that process by 2030.
