It Takes a Village provides parent support, info

A local group is seeking to provide women and families in the Southeast Missouri area with prenatal and postpartum education.

Amanda Rhodes, president of It Takes a Village, said she realized the need for the organization after seeing posts on various mother groups on Facebook.

The group started small, with weekly meetups at eDen Spa and Salon in downtown Cape Girardeau where mothers and fathers could ask questions in a safe space provided by eDen owner and It Takes a Village secretary Sarah Kilpela. Rhodes and others decided to fully form the organization after noticing the mothers in the group consisted of several individuals with different skill sets such as a doula-in-training, potty-training coach and a birth photographer, among others.

"We kind of naturally settled on the name 'It Takes a Village' because it really does take a village. We're not meant to parent in isolation, by ourselves, on an island," Rhodes said. "So we decided to start the nonprofit and we wanted to do these various classes because there's a serious need everywhere, but especially we thought in our community of just a lack of information — everything from birth-prep to breast feeding support to potty-training."

According to Rhodes, there have been many medical advancements and information on infant care in the past few decades. For example, as recently as 1986, infants were not given anesthesia before surgeries because it was believed they had not fully developed their pain receptors. The information available online to parents has helped provide them with educational material, she said, but having an individual, such as a doula, helps new parents feel more comfortable in their new experience. According to Oxford Dictionary, a "doula" is a woman, typically without formal obstetric training, who is employed to provide guidance and support to a pregnant woman during labor. In comparison to a "midwife or doctor," who is defined as a person trained to assist women in childbirth.

It Takes a Village is part of a new pilot program with Healthy Blue Medicaid insurance, a part of Blue Cross Blue Anthem. The partnership between It Takes a Village, among other organizations, and Healthy Blue could potentially lead to the insurance company providing funding for a doula and provide training to individuals interested in receiving doula-training in Missouri.

"Any Healthy Blue mom in the area who is pregnant can enroll in the pilot program and they will cover doula services for her pregnancy and birth. They also give us the grant to work on our office space and expand our website to improve digital presence," Rhodes said. "The ultimate goal would be for all insurance providers to cover doula services, but right now their most immediate goal is Medicaid."

Members of It Takes a Village will host a family convention from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 26 at Drury Plaza Convention Center in Cape Girardeau. Admission is a suggested donation of $5, but anyone who is in need of information or resources is welcome to attend. Some of the amenities at the event include vendors, a potty-training coach, car seat informational material and workshops.

For more information on It Takes a Village events or on the organization, visit www.ittakesavillagesemo.com. To find out how to get involved, visit the organizations sponsor and volunteer section of the website.