BElovedBIRTH Black Centering helps moms by sending extra nutrition to their homes, free of charge.
Nutrition for Black Moms and Families
Your body goes through a lot when you’re pregnant and after you give birth. Through all of it, you need good nutrition to be sure you and your baby are healthy.
BElovedBIRTH Black Centering helps moms by sending extra nutrition to their homes, free of charge.
“We have a partnership with Mandela Partners here in Oakland to provide our moms with produce boxes every other week. Postpartum we have some meal delivery services for moms from local Black-owned restaurants,” says Bryonna Mathews, a Black Centering certified nurse-midwife at the AHS Family Birthing Center.
“We encourage moms to breastfeed. We encourage them to cook nutrition-rich foods that they and their partners can eat,” Mathews says. “That’s one way we’re preparing our moms for parenting.”
Our new moms are grateful for this extra care.
“They bring you food, healthy vegetables and fruit that you can use throughout the week. That makes it easier for me not to have to go to grocery shop,” says Julie Ann Isacc, a new mom who is part of Black Centering. “It’s not just about being able to give birth in a healthy environment, but being able to be well-rounded in all aspects of family.”
The Black Centering team is also working on a recipe book. “It will include meals that are traditional within our community. That creates this sense of safety, like, ‘Wow, these are people that truly get me and understand me,’” Mathews says.