Ten years ago, in a small community church, Patricia Gabbe, MD, had a vision. She saw a community where mothers no longer had to grieve the loss of their newborn child, a community where mothers walked into the delivery room confident to successfully give birth and a community that paved the way towards a movement that eliminated the racial and ethnic disparities for expecting mothers. Gabbe envisioned what is now Moms2B.

On this 10-year anniversary, Gabbe, and other members of Moms2B are celebrating the success of the community-based program that empowers low-income pregnant women to deliver full-term healthy babies in central Ohio.

Since the program’s inception, the infant mortality rate in Franklin County has improved from 9.6 in 2011 to 6.9 in 2019, a decrease for the first time in a decade. Moms2B’s efforts have reached outside of central Ohio all the way to Dayton communities.

To celebrate the milestone, Moms2B staff, volunteers and supporters, along with their partners and Columbus community leaders, gathered for the Moms2B State of the Union Webinar. The celebration included many familiar faces including co-founder and Moms2B Director Twinkle Schottke and Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther.

During this time of COVID-19, Moms2B has adjusted its services by offering virtual sessions to high-risk clients and those unable to attend in-person appointments. The program has also taken this time to give back to the low-income communities they serve through food delivery and care packages.

Moms2B has expanded its efforts to include fathers by partnering with David Fluellen, founder of the Dads2B program. Already the program serves more than 400 fathers with education programs to strengthen their parenting skills, and the numbers continue to grow.

As the Moms2B anniversary comes to a close, Dr. Gabbe is looking forward to the future, “This has been a rewarding 10 years. We are excited for the next 10 years, because we still have work to do!”

To learn more about the Moms2B program, click here. If you’re interested in supporting the program, contact Bernice.Lee@osumc.edu or click here.