Every Child Deserves A Healthy Start At Life
By Lisa Kimura, Executive Director Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition
Before, during and after pregnancy, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii (HMHB) is here every step of the way.
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National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition was founded in 1981 to improve the quality and reach of prenatal and infant care. HMHB was established in 1992. We believe in a child’s right to be born healthy and be raised in a safe and nurturing environment, equal access to health care, a collective voice to facilitate change and education to encourage healthy choices.
Finding a caring, compassionate advocate on your journey to motherhood is invaluable. Women call the MothersCare Line to find health insurance or prenatal classes, or learn about their rights as mothers. HMHB also works to communicate breast-feeding laws and provide in-service training for employers through our Breast-feeding for Businesses program.
HMHB also offers a “Cribs for Kids” educational class to low-income families that are at a higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome. Participants learn a variety of infant-safety techniques and receive a free crib so their babies have a safe place to sleep.
By utilizing social media for outreach and optimizing our online directory with critical information, HMHB is better reaching our target population of new and expectant mothers than ever before.
Calls to our free MothersCare Line have increased by more than 50 percent, resulting in more women receiving health information and referrals. We also have expanded text4baby, a free health text-messaging service customized to your baby’s age and development every week of pregnancy and first year. Through these services and programs, we reach close to 20,000 people a year.
Like most nonprofits, increasing revenue is at the top of our list, and we are extremely grateful for community support. Currently, the majority of our income comes from grants, so every donation is vital to increasing our programs and services. We also are in need of compassionate volunteers with nonprofit legal and financial experience to join our board.
Join us! Learn more at our open house Monday, March 31, 2-4 p.m. at Waikiki Community Center. For more information, go to hmhb-hawaii.org or call 737-5805.
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