Grammy Award-winning singer Kelly Rowland teamed up with national nonprofit Baby2Baby to distribute maternal health and newborn supply kits at New York City Health + Hospitals/Kings County on September 16. The initiative, designed to alleviate child poverty and support new mothers, provided essential items such as diapers, hygiene products, breastfeeding supplies, and postpartum care kits to Brooklyn’s newest moms.
As a Baby2Baby board member, Rowland joined the nonprofit’s co-CEOs, Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof, to personally deliver the first batch of supply kits. The event marked a significant moment in the nonprofit’s expanding outreach, as Baby2Baby continues its efforts to address the critical mental health challenges that new mothers face, particularly those unable to afford the essentials for their infants. “We couldn’t be more proud to bring Baby2Baby’s maternal health and newborn supply kits to New York,” said Weinstein and Patricof. “The goal of the program is to support new mothers by addressing the mental health struggles they experience when they cannot afford critical items for their newborns.”
Since launching its partnership with NYC Health + Hospitals in 2021, Baby2Baby has provided essential goods such as diapers, wipes, portable cribs, and car seats, all with the goal of promoting safe and equitable care for new mothers. Deborah Brown, chief external affairs officer at NYC Health + Hospitals, lauded Baby2Baby’s efforts, calling the visit to Kings County Hospital a “profound moment of connection and joy.”
The partnership is particularly timely as the United States faces a maternal health crisis, with maternal mortality rates doubling in the past two decades, disproportionately impacting Black mothers. Mental health has been identified as a key factor in this growing issue, and Baby2Baby, with support from a multi-million-dollar grant from Huggies, is working to address it by expanding its initiative to 10 states, including New York.
NYC Health + Hospitals’ chief women’s health officer Wendy Wilcox called the collaboration a “significant step” toward improving maternal health outcomes for vulnerable families. Wilcox emphasized that the supply kits help meet “real, concrete needs” for patients and expressed hope for continued partnership with Baby2Baby.