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According to the Ohio Department of Health, the leading cause of infant death in Ohio is preterm birth (30%) followed by birth defects (19%) and sleep-related deaths (<14%). Current data states that the state of Ohio ranks 39th in the country for infant mortality! Moms2B is here to help women at high risk for infant mortality learn tools that will enable them to make healthier choices and deliver healthy, full-term infants.

Learn how to have a healthy baby and pregnancy, talk with healthcare professionals, share a meal and make new friends at a Prenatal Education Session. Sessions are held every week, and we provide transportation assistance, free child care and incentives for attendance.

About Moms2B

About Moms2B

The Moms2B program was founded in 2010 by:
  • Pediatrician, clinical researcher and professor, Patricia Gabbe, MD
  • Infant mental health specialist and program director, Twinkle French Schottke

What began originally as a research-driven, ten-week nutrition course at one location, has since expanded into a community-wide comprehensive prenatal and first-year-of-life program, offered weekly at five locations. The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University and other community social service organizations support Moms2B with ongoing access to:

  • Physicians
  • Nurses
  • Dietitians
  • Lactation Counselors
  • Social Workers
  • Parenting & Childhood Educators
  • Community Health Workers
  • Health Professional Students

Many dedicated volunteers and generous individuals and corporations donate their time and dollars as well.

Our ultimate goal is to make a difference one baby at a time, and in our first four years, we joyfully welcomed hundreds of new babies into the Central Ohio community.

For more information about the program, call 614-292-1605.

Please direct all media inquiries to Public Affairs and Media Relations at 614-293-3737.

What We Do

What We Do

Our Purpose:
Targeting Central Ohio zip codes with the highest infant mortality rates, Moms2B provides weekly education and support sessions to high-risk pregnant women to promote healthier lifestyle choices and link them with social support resources. 

Our Goal:
The goal of Moms2B is for all participants to deliver healthy, full-term infants that live to celebrate their first birthday Moms2B encourages all pregnant women to participate and invites them to remain in the program until they are one year postpartum.

Our Approach:
Moms2B educates through a multi-disciplinary team approach. Healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses, social workers, dietitians, lactation counselors, and healthcare students educate on maternal and infant health topics. 

The education topics, specifically designed to address concerns and questions of Moms2B participants, focuses on: 

  • Breastfeeding
  • Child Development
  • Family Planning
  • Goal Setting
  • Labor & Delivery
  • Maternal-Infant Health
  • Positive Parenting
  • Reproductive Health
  • Safe Sleep and more!

Each program session is  delivered in a supportive environment, encouraging and empowering  moms to take ownership of their choices, often leading to new found independence after the baby’s delivery and beyond.

Moms2B even provides a healthy and hot meal with every session to supplement the diets of participants, as 85% report experiencing food shortages at home within the past year. On-site child care is also provided for all program participants; this allows moms to engage and interact not only with the education, but also with fellow participants. Pre-registration is not required. Please call 614-292-1605 for more details.

Making A Difference

Making a Difference

The Moms2B program continues to grow:
  • In over 6 years, approximately 1,000 women have attended at least one of our Moms2B sessions
  • We welcomed 353 new Moms in 2016
  • We average 20 Moms at each location weekly
  • Of the women enrolled in Moms2B, only 8% of babies born were of low birth weight
  • 88% percent of our recorded single birth babies weighed over 5-pounds, 8-ounces at delivery
  • Moms2B has also welcomed ten sets of twins and one set of triplets, with more multiples on the way
Program founder, Patricia Gabbe, MD, MPH on the women in Moms2B:

“Their resilience, positive attitudes and strength in the face of such incredible obstacles inspires me to stay committed to our program and try to make a positive lifelong difference for them.”

Beyond the obvious relief of delivering a healthy baby, there are significant financial implications as well:

  • Reducing prematurity results in a significant cost avoidance for the Medicaid program. 
  • The medical costs for a premature or low-birth weight infant is approximately $55,000 in the first year of life alone. 
  • Whereas the medical costs for an infant born full-term is less than $4,000 annually. 
  • With our impact on decreasing the number of babies born low-birth weight, we estimate a cost savings of $300,000 per year.

Prenatal Education Sessions

Prenatal Educational Sessions

Prenatal Educational Sessions

Learn how to have a healthy baby and pregnancy, talk with healthcare professionals, share a meal and make new friends at a Prenatal Education Session. Sessions are held every week, and we provide transportation assistance, free child care and incentives for attendance. Call us at 614-292-1605 to learn more.

JOIN US TO:

Learn how to have healthy baby and pregnancy, talk with healthcare professionals, share a meal and make new friends.

WE OFFER:

Transportation assistance, free child care and incentives for attendance

Our Locations


How to Help

Donate / Volunteer

Donate / Volunteer

Our Partners

Our Partners

As a non-profit, Moms2B is completely reliant on our volunteers and generous partners. This includes:
  • The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
  • CareSource
  • Grace Missionary Baptist Church
  • Mount Carmel Health
  • Nationwide Children’s Hospital
  • Ohio State Extension Office
  • Ohio State Outreach and Engagement
  • Ohio State University Hospital East
  • Temple Israel
  • The Columbus Foundation
  • The Columbus Kiwanis Club
  • The Kroger Company
  • The Mid-Ohio Food Bank
  • The Ohio Governor's Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives
  • Weinland Park Collaborative
  • United Way of Central Ohio 
  • New Salem Baptist Church
  • Community Development for All People
  • Hillcrest Baptist Church
  • Epworth United Methodist Church
  • New Birth Christian Ministries
  • Mount Carmel Health Systems
  • CelebrateOne
  • The Columbus Foundation
  • Columbus Public Health Department
  • Columbus Medical Association Foundation
  • AMAG Pharmaceuticals

Contact Us

Contact Us

Moms2B
921 Chatham Lane
Suite 108
Columbus, Ohio 43221

For more information about the program, call 614-292-1605.

Please direct all media inquiries to Public Affairs and Media Relations at 614-293-3737.

Email: Moms2B@osumc.edu

Moms2B Is Helping Expectant Moms Have Healthy Babies

Moms2B provides weekly education and support sessions to promote healthy lifestyle choices and link Moms with support services. Our education topics focus on: breastfeeding, child development, family planning, goal setting, labor and delivery, maternal-infant health, positive parenting, reproductive health, safe sleep and more!
 
In addition to Moms2B being FREE to attend, our “bonus features” include a $5 Kroger gift card for attendance, transportation assistance, on-site childcare and a hot, healthy meal. We also spend a lot of time connecting our Moms to other Columbus-based programs for assistance.

Understanding the Need for Prenatal Care

Infant Death 2016

Proportion of Causes of Infant Death in Ohio (2016)


  •   Infant Mortality is defined by The Centers for Disease Control as the death of a living baby before his/her first birthday
  •   The infant mortality rate is an estimate of the number of infant deaths for every 1,000 live births
  •   1,024 infants died in Ohio in 2016
  •   In 2016, Ohio experienced 1.9% increase in infant mortality compared to 2015.
  •   The national “Healthy People 2020” infant mortality rate objective establishes a goal of reducing the infant mortality rate to 6.0
  •   The most current data from 2016 suggests that Ohio’s infant mortality rate is 7.4
  •   In Franklin County, 165 infants did not reach their first birthday in 2016, according to the Ohio Department of Health
  •   This places Franklin County’s infant mortality rate at a staggering 8.7 per 1000 live births
  •   In Ohio, African-American babies die at more than three times the rate of white babies (which reflects a similar national statistic)
  •   Central Ohio infant mortality rates are above the state average… and even higher than New York City

 

For more information,
Call 614-292-1605

Two moms share their experience with Moms2B


Moms2B is a proud member of the Kroger Community Rewards Program.  Enroll today and help Moms2B support Columbus area mothers overcome social determinants of health and raise healthy, happy babies!

Kroger Community Rewards

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