10 Years of Impact with BirthMatters!
This month, BirthMatters celebrated 10 years as an independent nonprofit! BirthMatters. While BirthMatters received this status July 9, 2012, they had been operating as an organization since 2007 when the Mary Black Foundation gave BirthMatters a planning grant. BirthMatters housed in Spartanburg Regional Healthcare Foundation while conducting focus groups, researching existing doula programs, and collecting data. In 2011, BirthMatters secured federal funding from HRSA to expand their services into Cherokee County and BirthMatters’ doulas in Spartanburg and Cherokee County supported over sixty families with a total of 750 prenatal sessions and 370 postpartum sessions. Later that year, BirthMatters added a teen pregnancy prevention program, ‘What Could You Do?’ Since 2013, BirthMatters has secured new funding from Women Giving and Spartanburg Regional Foundation and continued funding from United Way, Mary Black Foundation, March of Dimes, and S.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Check out this video to learn more about BirthMatters!
BirthMatters reduces teen pregnancy through reproductive health education and empowers expectant young adults to raise healthy families through doulas utilizing the community health worker model. There are various ways BirthMatters reaches the larger Spartanburg community through their mission with their programs Celebrating Families and Breastfeeding Friendly Businesses. Celebrating Families is a time for expecting families in Spartanburg to get to know each other and learn about resources available to help new parents. The Breastfeeding Friendly Business is an initiative that labels businesses around Spartanburg as breastfeeding-friendly. Both of these initiatives along with volunteering and fundraising events allow for the community to collaborate with BirthMatters in spreading awareness of reproductive health and family preparation with Spartanburg county.
BirthMatters provides various resources to the Spartanburg community regarding reproductive health education and prevention services for teen pregnancy such as Doula Care Services and iMatter. Doula Care Services is an educational and emotional support program for young expectant mothers for ages 24 and younger. iMatter has individual sessions, sexual health & adolescent risk prevention (SHARP), and virtual sessions for any need for a young adult who might need help with their sexual health knowledge. Click here to learn more about the ways BirthMatters spreads awareness about reproductive health throughout the Spartanburg community and how you can become more involved in working with BirthMatters.
BirthMatters is bringing awareness to National Breastfeeding Month for August! Thank you BirthMatters for your impact in the community and congratulations on your 10 year anniversary as a nonprofit organization!
Becoming a sponsor or attending a fundraising event greatly contributes to BirthMatters and their donations contribute to providing intensive doula services to expectant mothers and prevent teen pregnancy in Spartanburg County. The majority of donations go towards the community doula program service and teen pregnancy prevention program of iMatters. Click here to donate to BirthMatters and spread their mission throughout the Spartanburg community.