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Photo courtesy of BirthWell Partners.
Leah Hayes, left, a doula with the BirthWell Partners Community Doula Project, shown with a client and her baby. BirthWell Partners is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
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Photo courtesy of the city of Birmingham.
The door to a new private lactation area recently provided for employees at Birmingham City Hall.
Red Mountain Theatre will present several concerts at its magnificent new facility in June.
An organization dedicated to lowering Alabama’s infant mortality rate is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
The city of Birmingham is seeking to help people impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic and to make life easier for working moms at City Hall.
Red Mountain Theatre campus opens
Red Mountain Theatre is celebrating the soft opening of its new facility — located at 1600 Third Ave. S. — with the “RMT Parkside Concert Series.”
The family-friendly shows are being staged at the facility’s Main Stage or in the 120-seat Discovery Theatre.
► June 3-5, Discovery Theatre: Bobby Horton will present “Songs and Stories of the Civil War.”
► June 4-5, Main Stage: RMT alumna Audrey Cardwell and Birmingham native Cecil Washington Jr. will perform. Both are veterans of the musical theater in New York.
“We couldn’t think of a better way to open the Arts Campus than with a lineup full of Birmingham natives and Red Mountain Theatre alums,” RMT Executive Director Keith Cromwell said.
Singer and songwriter Jon Campbell and his wife Kristen, a Red Mountain Theatre veteran, opened the series with performances May 13-15.
Showtimes will be Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at redmountaintheatre.org/boxoffice.
More information about the concerts is available at redmountaintheatre.org/rmts-parkside concert-series.
In accordance with COVID-19 guidelines, each show will be at 50% capacity and face masks will be required.
Helping women give birth
In 2016, 36 mothers in Alabama died within one year of giving birth, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
The pregnancy-related mortality ratio is 22 deaths per 100,000 live births.
BirthWell Partners Community Doula Project, a Birmingham-based nonprofit, is working to lower that statistic by training doulas for pregnant women who cannot afford to hire them.
A doula is a trained professional who provides support for a mother during the pregnancy, during the birth and after the birth.
BirthWell Partners turned 10 years old in May.
Director Dalia Abrams and co-founder Susan Petrus created BirthWell Partners in 2011 with a goal to increase access to doula care, and the organization helps train doulas.
After a decade of existence, the organization has helped nearly 500 mothers have successful pregnancies.
There are many factors that lead into the maternal mortality rate, and there’s only so much the organization can do, Abrams told Iron City Ink.
“But providing someone with a trained person to be with them during pregnancy, postpartum, and during the labor and birth; to be a source of reliable information; to be an amplification of that person’s voice if there’s something wrong; to be an ear to bounce ideas off of — it helps people to get better care and to advocate better for themselves,” Abrams said.
For more information, go to birthwellpartners.org.
Help for city renters
Renters who’ve fallen behind paying their rent or utilities bills due to the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for help through the city of Birmingham’s Rental Assistance Program.
The city began accepting applications through an online portal and a call center in late April.
This program is made possible by more than $6.2 million in federal funding, according to a city news release.
The federal funding means that applications must meet several requirements during the application and review process, said Mayor Randall Woodfin.
“Several documents are required to be submitted,’’ Woodfin said.
Renters will need to submit copies of such documents as a current driver’s license, their lease, a letter from their landlord to show they are behind on their rent and paperwork from their place of employment to show they have been laid off or experienced a reduction in salary.
Renters must also live within the city limits of Birmingham and meet a certain income level.
For an application or more information, call 844-287-1250 or go to birminghamal.gov/renthelp
A space for working moms
The city of Birmingham recently opened a lactation room at City Hall for employees who are nursing, according to a May 7 news release from the mayor’s office.
The new, private space supports the needs of working mothers who want to continue nursing after returning to work.
Sarah McMillan — manager of workforce and talent development for the City of Birmingham and a mother of two — recently returned to work after giving birth to her three-month-old son, Myles, according to the news release.
She said she has a goal to breastfeed Myles for a year, and the lactation room provides a relaxing environment.
“It’s really nice to have a designated space where you can go, and it’s specifically for you,’’ McMillan said.
The room features two private areas for nursing mothers, as well as such features as a refrigerator, microwave, secured storage area, sink, soothing sounds and soap specific for bottles and breast pump parts.
Veronica Merritt, chief compliance officer for the city’s human resources department, said the lactation room was a collaborative effort between city departments.
“We have offered support and locations in the past to returning nursing mothers, but the addition of a specific lactation room, provides a general sense of comfort and privacy for employees,’’ she said.
– Ingrid Schnader contributed to this report.
