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MEternal2bd_2023-05-20-12-24-11

Melan moms is a social enterprise that's mission driven to help mothers with maternal health. The founding president and CEO emphasizes that it's not a nonprofit. Jaha Wilson shares how she's personally affected. I often think about my own birthing experiences and in the moment I had no idea that I was a part of those same statistics that we're looking at. Right. So sorry, no problem, honey. Are you getting emotional thinking about it a little bit? Um And that's understandable. It's things that you never know are as significant as they are until you're able to reflect on it. So that's why I paused but I, I think about it because as much as I'm like, I'm so grateful for everything. Like these platforms, these, these amazing opportunities. Like it's great, but like my health during my pregnancies, they, those things could have actually taken me, taken me away from the, my child, my Children, you know, but all of my pregnancies were dreadful. I absolutely could have lost my life and I just couldn't imagine not being able to see them grow up, you know, and there are so many moms and, and birthing people who are who will never be able to have those, those experiences because no one took them seriously or people dismiss their needs. Um, or they felt that they couldn't access the care that they needed because it was too far away. Or they didn't have health insurance or they're a non documented person. Right. So, it's all of these barriers that stand in the way of people being able to be their best self and no one sees them and the things that I've learned through growing my company and the different people I've met and all these other things that have come is visibility is everything, right? So having the, the ability to be seen and to be heard that changes things for people. So giving them the opportunity to be seen, but also see themselves as someone who is valuable that if I don't do anything else, I feel like that's, that's what I'm here for. That's, that's my purpose behind the work that I do. Wilson is an LP N who lives in Union County. She talks about her co founder and her work right after the break.

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MEternal3bd_2023-05-20-12-24-16

Me moms was founded in 2017 as a Mummy Meat group. They hold special events connecting with moms in different spaces. Jaha Wilson is the founding president and CEO, her co founder, Alexia Harrod came on board in 2018. I'm originally from Buffalo, New York. Alexia still lives there. We're childhood friends. Um So when I told her, you know, I really want this to be something that we can do here in Buffalo. She was like, well, bring me on, let's see if I can help if there's a way that we can do this together. So in 2018, she joined me and she became my co founder specifically for um Western New York. And she's been able to build what Melan moms looks like there, but also putting Melania moms in the state of New York. The moms in Buffalo are also being able to benefit from the different programs and services that we offer here in New Jersey up there. When I originally started, I never wanted anyone to know that I was a nurse. I was so afraid of giving um this hierarchical space and taken away from that authenticity of of organic connection, I didn't lead with that. But as I started to learn more about the women who are joining our, our organization and the needs that they had, I realized, obviously my skills as a nurse also feed into maternal health and wellness, right? So as a LP N and as a nurse who've always worked in community health, they really go hand in hand. Um I've learned more about what, how marginalization impacts people's health. Um And I've also been able to create more strategies with health care spaces so that they can see these are the ways that you need to position questions and, and um community needs. Um And this is how inequities show up in a person's health and the way that they respond or the experiences that they have in these health care spaces. It gave me the validation that people needed to trust my, my opinion and also trust the process of going from point A to point B in terms of learning from the patient or the client and then being able to empower them to also be a part of their health care. Coming up next at noon, she talks about the difference between equity and equality.

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MEternal4bd_2023-05-20-12-24-22

Wilson is the founding president and CEO of Melan moms. She says her daughters are actively involved with this social enterprise that's mission driven. She talks about the difference between equity and equality when it comes to maternal health care for women of color. I'm a mom. I am a four time survivor of pre eclampsia. And prior to having my first two, my first daughter, um I had two losses and I had no idea that those experiences that I had would be related to anyone else because I thought they were personal. But until I started actually doing this as work and I started having conversations with the moms in my group. I realized this was actually a common occurrence and this was actually a space that we can find similarities and set of differences. So using that as an example, even for myself, gave me this, this gave me the permission that I needed to feel comfortable in saying this is my background and I can use this as a skill and not as you know, a barrier to make people feel uncomfortable of, oh, the nurse is just gonna tell me what to do, right? So I'm the nurse that's gonna say I can advise you I can give you more resource is to, to connect with other health care professionals that can give you even better advice or even more recommendations so that you can be your, your best self and your most healthy self. Um But it's coming from an authentic place because you know me as a person, does that make sense? It makes sense. Jay, how do your daughters benefit from Melan moms? They benefit so much. Oh my gosh. Um my daughter is on my everything. I wouldn't be a melan mom without my Melan kids. Um particularly my youngest daughter, Ava, she, she, she is my branded marketing manager. She tells anybody who has ears about our initiative about the work that we do. But they also know the significance of building this company is a part of the legacy that I'm building for them. And they, they, they'll tell anybody like this is my mom is putting all this work in because we know that we're gonna be the next generation to take this over. So we need to know the process of what does it look like to grow with the company and to be in all of these spaces. So eight times out of 10, you'll see my kids, like my kids are always there. They're a part of the work that I do. They travel with me. Um Whenever we're doing trainings my youngest, she actually um she taught a segment of my training and she did phenomenal. I was like, I don't even have to say anything but she taught it. So to me, it was like, again, validation that I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. But it's also registering with my kids and they see themselves as a part of it growing as well. And tomorrow at six AM, Jay talks about their upcoming events to globally expand their message about maternal health.

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MEternal5bd_2023-05-21-13-05-09

This weekend, we continue putting the spotlight on Melan moms, Jaha Wilson, standing on the right is the founding president and CEO. She says for the past three years, Melan moms partnered with the group, Black ladies in public health. They're also expanding to London and Toronto with Global Maternal Health. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited. Um So, one of uh one of the things we've been able to do, particularly during the pandemic was organically grow virtually. So, prior to um prior to the pandemic, we were doing everything in person, like I said, driving here and there. But when we went fully virtual, it just opened up a whole, a whole new group of people who all saw themselves as Melania moms, one of which um is in London in the UK. Um It's a wonderful organization called Global Black Maternal Health. Um And you all had no idea that existed. No, not at all. Either of us. We had no idea either of us existed, who knew that you'd make this connection, right? Um So we connected actually through social media and we just continue to talk and learn how can I support the things that you're doing and how does, how do some of the statistics that you see there in the UK relate to what we see here in the US? So there, they actually have an in, have five times more. So black women in the UK are five times more likely to die in childbirth as opposed to their white counterparts. That's even higher than here in the US nationally. Yes. But if you go, if you break it down through state, it's much higher. So here in the State of New Jersey, black women are seven times more likely to die in China. Yeah. Wow. And our Children and our Children are 3.5 times more likely to die before their first birthday in the state of New Jersey. The only states that are worse are Indiana, Georgia and Louisiana. But what I can say and what I'm very proud about in terms of New Jersey is Governor Murphy and his and the first lady Timmy Murphy have really been pushing to shift that narrative and really listen to the communities that are most vulnerable and going through these mortality. Um So they've, like I said, they pulled us in. We've been a part of so many different initiatives. Um So it's really given us that notoriety also to be able to be on platforms where we're going to the UK now. So we'll be there in June, we'll be teaching. Um We're a part of their conference. It's called the, the Clean Air Conference. Um So they're talking more about um the relation between uh air pollution and how it impacts maternal mortality. And we have the same issues here in three states, you know. Um and they ask for, um Toronto had a great opportunity to connect through um political engagement. So, um they're doing a panel, uh they're doing a panel um specifically around what this early childhood education and intervention look like from a national level. And how can we find the supports and the, the the things that families need through the political figures that will be there? So I'll be, I'll be there in, at the end of August and in our next segment at nine, Jay talks about the activities that Melan moms offers.

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MEternal6bd_2023-05-21-13-05-17

From one female empowerment story to another. This morning, Melan moms is a social enterprise that's mission driven. Wilson is the founding president and CEO. She talks about the activities this group offers, the training that's been foundational for us is it's really given us the to connect with different communities that we never would have connected with before. So outside of moms, we have fathers, we have grandparents, we have aunts, uncles, we have um foster families who are also um getting initiated to what Melania moms can do and has done for them. But outside of that, we do fun things. Um So these are from our fundraiser. The Caesar Sisterhood was hosted in Trenton, New Jersey. Um Our goal was to raise funds so that we can open up our birthing center. Um It was an amazing day. Um We, we were able to connect with so many people. We have over 200 people in attendance. Um This photo, oh my God. So I was at uh at this amazing conference called in California where I got to meet other social entrepreneurs who are doing the same type of work mission based businesses to change and sustain things around the world, you know, so just being able to open up and see that I'm not the only one that's in this like crazy entrepreneurship seat. Um It gave me comfort, right? Um But it also motivated me to keep going. Um This was our beach day. So we had so many different moms from different walks of life. Um We were, oh my God, this is such a fun day. Um We got to go to the Barclays Center um where we went to a W NBA game with our kids. Um Those are two of our moms, Chelsea and Kim um in our community. This is where it all started, you know, just being able to see like some of these same people have been with us for five years. That's a long time. It's a lot of loyalty there. It is, it is, it is what is the message you want people to walk away from this interview with about Melan moms, you gotta go through it to get through it. Um There are a lot of things that are very difficult to walk through, but particularly by yourself, motherhood is not something that anyone should ever have to face alone. So for us, we want to be that space that you can go through it with, you know, so you're not doing that walk along. Um But it's also motivation to let you know that you can get through it, right? So you do have to go through. You can't shortcut motherhood, you can't short cut these hard spaces, but you can get the support that you need to be a better version of yourself for yourself and for your kids. And coming up at noon, Jay talks about a new book and a podcast from Melan Moms.

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MEternal7bd_2023-05-21-13-05-22

Melan moms is on a mission to promote maternal health among women of color. The founding president and CEO says they have a new book out to spread. The word started as a small little um ebook that I wrote, particularly for our small community to teach people how to use public speaking skills, to talk to people that they need to talk to, to create more um networking opportunities and to go into different spaces um just more comfortably, you know, be, be you, be you. Yes, being your authenticity, right? Um We got the wonderful opportunity to work with um a nonprofit here in New Jersey called Advocates for Children of New Jersey. And they said that they were looking for some type of way to motivate parents and families um to get into public policy work that really involved advocating for kids, but also advocating for the things that parents need to support those kids. So they're like, hey, you know, we heard that you have this group, you know, do you have any type of training or a workshop or thing that we can offer? And I was like, oh, I think this would fit so Um I'm so grateful for it. Um They gave us the opportunity for us to offer it digitally. We did it virtually because it was actually during the pandemic and our first cohort, we recruited over 100 families, 100 individuals, excuse me. And they've been speaking on platforms being a part of P SAS. Um, a part of different um marketing campaigns around public policy. They've gone to our state Capitol here in Trenton. They've also gone to Washington DC. They've gone to Chicago. So they understand the, the power behind their voice and their message, it starts with them authentically knowing who they are, what they represent as a parent or a guardian or a caregiver. But also like that's what actually moves the needle, right? So when we're looking at political figures and people who run the things that we need, they also need to have that insight from people who are living, right? So they need to learn from us that are in the neighborhoods in the districts and the counties that they're supporting or representing. They need to know what it really looks like from the people who are there. Right. So we've been able to strategize that with um different policy makers and influence the way that they've actually looked at some policies that they may have veto before. But now that they have that real life experience from people who live in those districts or people who've lived through these experiences, they they've changed.

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MEternal8bd_2023-05-21-13-05-27

We are back with more about Melan moms along with a new book. They also have a podcast. I'm a part of this amazing podcast on iheart Radio called Maternal. Um And we particularly focus on what does Black maternal health look like here in the States, right? So we've brought on amazing um guests to talk about their contributions to improving Black maternal health. So we have different people from the March of Dimes who've been on um think Metro Plus. Um We've also had um Tanya Lewis Lee, who's the director of Aftershock, the, the brand new um documentary that's uh specifically following two fathers who lost their partners during the childbirth. Um And it's just, it's something else we don't talk about as well, fathers, right? So having spaces for them to know that they are still connected to maternal health. That's actually what creates not just equality but, but equity, right? So giving people what they need in order for them to, to thrive, that's, that's equitable, right? So those fathers, they need the support not be because just because their partner isn't there, but also because they are now involved in spaces that they never expected to be in. Right. So. Mhm. We partner with places like that. We partner with people, excuse me like that. And we're able to bring it to a podcast that's nationally syndicated and over 50 million people listen to. Um, I think that's pretty good, you know. So, I think that's excellent. So, to be a one of the host, I'm very grateful for the opportunity. What future plans do you have for Melan Moms? Everything. Uh um Our future plans is to grow so um organically and strategically, um we're looking at what does it look like to build here and then replicate in other cities through ambassadorship um as well as learning from other organizations that have existed before we did and creating partnerships and knowing um we build as we climb. So um we have great partners in almost every single state and just knowing that um a lot of these partners are women of color, are mothers of color, are people from so many different walks of life. Um They understand the, the, the importance of having race, ethnicity, culture and language as a part of our structure. But they also see that reflected in the work that they do. So it just, it gives us more confirmation like this is a good partner for us to have because we all our mission and our vision are both aligned. All of my segments with Melan moms are posted on news 12 dot com. And my Facebook page.

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Jateesha Wilson, the founding president and CEO of Melinated Moms, joined Della Crews this week on Spotlight New Jersey. 

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MEternal1bd_2023-05-20-12-24-04

Spotlight New Jersey: Melinated Moms

We are putting the spotlight on Melan moms. This group photo shows the members who are involved, the founding president and CEO emphasizes that it's not a nonprofit. Jaha Wilson says this is a social enterprise that's mission driven to help mothers of color with maternal health care, being mission driven. I leave with my heart, right? So I wanna make sure that the people that we touch, we don't have barriers. Um The people that we help often are experiencing so many different inequities and all these things keep stopping in their tracks. So for us, we didn't want to just help people. We wanted to make sure that we removed all of the obstacles that can stand in the way of being an organization. Um And so I was like, no, we'll go forward, we will make sure that we find the funding, we do the work, we create the initiatives and thank God, those things have actually showed up for us. Um We've been able to sustain ourselves and continue to find funding and find support and find more opportunities for us to grow. When did you all start? So, Melan and mom started in 2017, and it initially started just as a small mommy meet up group. Um I started on the app meet up actually, um with about uh 11 moms and our kids and we just started doing different little um like community events and um going to the park with the kids trampoline spots, different things like that so that the kids had things to engage with. But also the moms had other like minded women to meet and we just kept growing. But from there, it turned into something else that I wasn't expecting. Right? So learning how to actually build a business around things that I enjoy doing and meeting new people and strategizing what does it look like to network from the lens of a mom. Um It turned it into this business that you see today. Where did the name Melan moms come from? Oh, well, hello, I'm Melanie. Uh This is a good point, right? So, you know, Melanie means to be of color. Um And then moms, right? So my identity originally, um I didn't understand the complexities of what motherhood actually meant to me um until I went through my own transition. So I went from marriage to divorce. And before that I didn't know like who was I outside of being a wife and outside of being a mom, right? So as I've built this platform and I learned more about all of those things, I've learned that being a mom is an identity but it's not my only identity. So we just put those two things together. So I am of color and I am a mom. Um But I, I have so many other parts of who I am and, and the other people that we support coming up at nine, Wilson gets really emotional talking about her own birthing experiences.

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