In a hotel conference room, tables are lined with homemade blankets and hats, donated clothes and brand new supplies. There are car seats and boxes of diapers. Cribs and a rocking chair are up for raffle.
Yumi Goto’s second baby is due in May. She says she’s learned how important outside support is.
“I think that transition is pretty much affected by how much support we get from the community and the family members,” Goto says.
She wanted to attend Helena’s first community baby shower not only to pick up items she needs, but to show that events like this are in high demand.
“More people recognize this is important – the needs for the next generations,” she says.
She and her husband had to consider their finances carefully before deciding to have children.
According to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, pregnancy, delivery and postpartum medical care costs on average $20,000, with an average out-of-pocket cost of $2,700. The average annual cost of child care is upwards of $11,000. Parents are also facing inflated grocery and housing costs.
The Lewis and Clark County Public Health Department planned the shower. The department tapped into state and federal funding, plus private and nonprofit donations. Expecting parents applied to participate.
Sarah Sandau with the county health department helped parents sign up for home visits. Experts can help with a range of needs – from installing a car seat, to breastfeeding, to postpartum anxiety or depression.
“It’s a big scary time, and if you feel alone and isolated, it’s a lot harder. That peer support is so vital.”
The health department hopes to make the shower an annual event.
