Client Spotlight : Mama2Mama
Pasadena, CA
Mama2Mama is a nonprofit organization and community of mothers dedicated to filling the void in postpartum support. We strive to offer solace and solidarity to mothers in need by providing crucial resources, knowledge-sharing, and access to essential items. Our vision is a future of supported mothers. We are currently engaged in research and the formulation of our founding programs, with the primary aim of addressing the unique needs of mothers and birthing individuals during the early postpartum period. Our dedicated efforts are geared towards creating initiatives that fill the gap, aiming to provide necessary resources and assistance. In pursuit of this mission, we’ve set our sights on achieving this through material care, knowledge exchange and advocacy, and are centering our focus in the vibrant communities of San Diego and Los Angeles Counties, and across the border.
We are expanding our founding program, Mamas at the Border, focused on asylum-seeking mothers in Tijuana, Mexico. In partnership with local providers and women, our efforts at a local refugee shelter include weekly check-ins, needs documentation with mothers in crisis, along with the provision of essential postpartum supplies like baby carriers, diapers, wipes, formula, and bottles. Emphasizing the benefit of social support and community, we organize local resources for group therapy and psychological support, providing a safe space for mothers to learn about postpartum and newborn care. Our aim is to empower mothers through community building and the sharing of knowledge.
Most of us think about the basic needs refugees lose, like food or shelter, but there are deep and subtle social losses that go unnoticed. Before fleeing, Citana, a young mother in our Mamas at the Border program, lived close to her friends and family. She had a space to call her own. Now, all of that is lost and she copes the way many of us would: tucking a blanket up around her bunk at the refugee shelter and curling up with her newborn baby behind it.
Our local Mexican Mama2Mama facilitator, Isa, invited her to the Mamas at the Border community space and gatherings, but Citana stayed in bed. Persistent but not pushy, Isa spent months visiting each of the moms in the vast sleeping room, always taking time to say hello to Citana, bring her some diapers, and mention the opportunity. Then, one day Isa messaged: “Citana joined!” The young mother had finally risked visiting the group, and now she’s there nearly every day, circled together with fellow moms, swapping babies and stories, rebuilding some of the belonging that was lost. Citana needed time to grieve and be alone. She also needed people who would be safe, patient, and persistently supportive on her terms — just what Isa and the Mama2Mama community aim to do for one another.
Our vision is a future of supported mothers. Many mothers in their “fourth trimester,” the three-month period immediately following birth, are faced with a lack of support and care during this intense time of physiological and emotional change. We know from research that women’s postpartum concerns are intensified due to low social support, higher stress, and unmet needs — which can lead to a lowered sense of well-being. [1] We believe that every mother should have ease of access to community and resources that contribute to their health and happiness. We hope Mama2Mama can provide connection and care to mom in crisis, while uplifting and supporting the postpartum experience.
[1] Hannan, J., Brooten, D., Youngblut, J. M., & Galindo, A. M. (2016). Comparing mothers’ postpartum concerns in 2 clinical trials 18 years apart. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 28(11), 604–611.
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Special thanks to these women for making this happen!
Marisa Callahan, Co-founder + Board Chair
Cayla Willingham, Co-founder & Program Manager
Rachel Scandling, Executive Director
And my incredible clients and community, I’m so glad you’re here.
Jess Koehler Photo
Maternity + Family Photographer
Los Angeles, CA