The Birth Place at Iredell Memorial Hospital Provides Support to Mothers in Need

Becoming a mother and bringing home your new baby comes with a lot of excitement — but also a lot of questions and stressors. Adding financial obstacles and a lack of available resources to this may make these stressful feelings intensify.

Thanks to The Birth Place at Iredell Memorial Hospital and a new program called Iredell Baby Packs, underserved mothers in our community now won’t have to worry about how they’ll get some of the resources they need. Patients who meet specific, qualifying criteria will be given a Baby Pack – a “starter kit” for moms once they leave the hospital that includes baby mittens, a hat, a onesie, outfits, bibs, and a blanket.

The idea for Iredell Baby Packs came from Sharon Paul, Director of The Birth Place at Iredell Memorial Hospital. Recognizing the need to care for underserved mothers in the community, she suggested the packs to help qualifying mothers in need of a little extra support.

“Recently coming from Charlotte, I’m familiar with all the resources given to underserved communities there, so I thought we had some opportunity here to do the same thing. I decided if we could find someone to donate or take ownership of this project, it would be a great idea for mothers in need,” said Paul.

Bringing this idea to life, generous members of St. John’s Lutheran Church stepped in to make it a reality, assembling and donating all of the Iredell Baby Packs thus far. This month, the church donated 15 baby packs and has committed to providing 10-15 packs every month.

While Iredell Baby Packs are given only to patients who truly need them, all mothers at The Birth Place receive non-skid socks, a baby’s first year calendar, a hooded towel, and a “lovey” stuffed bear. Iredell County Partnership for Young Children donates a bag with a Dolly Parton Imagination Library Book, and Pharos Parenting also provides mothers with a bag of other goodies.

“In the spirit of gratitude, we so much appreciate St. John’s donation. The baby packs are so well put together and well thought out. I just really appreciate them helping us serve our community in the best way possible,” said Paul.

Pictured: Brian Sutton, President of Iredell Health System's volunteer auxiliary and member of St. John's Lutheran Church, helped coordinate the delivery of Iredell Baby Packs.