LoveLight, Inc., in collaboration with the Spirit of Motherhood, is pleased to announce the starting of two new twelve-week Sister Circles in Portage County.
The Windham Sister Circle will begin on Monday, July 20th from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Renaissance Family Center located at 9005 WilVerne Drive Windham 44288.
The Kent Sister Circle will begin on Thursday, July 23rd from 11 a.m. to noon at the First Christian Church 335 West Main Street Kent 44240.
LoveLight-Spirit of Motherhood Portage is an initiative to improve birth outcomes and address the crisis in racial disparities in maternal and infant health among Black women and their babies, focusing on Portage County. Research has found that maternal mental health plays a critical role in infant mortality and that cortisol levels associated with anxiety and stress can constrict the uterine lining, increasing the likelihood of preterm birth. This situation is exacerbated in Portage County by the absence of a labor and delivery unit.
The Sister Circle sessions are facilitated by trained doulas in a culturally responsive environment, providing emotional and material support, including food and childcare at the sessions as well as gift cards, books to read with their children, and other items such as diapers. Participants also receive the guidebook, Soothe your nerves: The Black woman’s guide to overcoming anxiety, panic and fear, written by Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett, one of this initiative’s coordinators and the developer of the successful Spirit of Motherhood program which is operating in other counties in northeast Ohio.
For more information or to participate in this exciting project, please send an email to lovelight@lovelightcares.org or text/call us at (330) 552-8959.
