See the Change We've Created for Mothers and Caregivers This Year
Since &Mother's inception in 2020, we've dedicated ourselves to breaking the barriers that limit a woman's choice to pursue and thrive in career and motherhood. In partnership with brands and companies that share our vision, we've spearheaded initiatives that allow mothers to fully participate in sports with the goal of demonstrating a supportive path for mothers in all industries.
Now in our third year, we're taking major strides to push the &Mother mission forward through event standardization, education initiatives, grants, and fundraising. Here is an outline of that work and the impact we've made so far this year.
Breastfeeding mothers have full support at major events
Our partnership with New York Road Runners (NYRR) continued this year, building on our inaugural lactation support efforts at the 2022 New York City Marathon. This spring, we enabled NYRR to provide lactation spaces at the United Airlines Half Marathon (March 2023) and the Brooklyn Half Marathon (May 2023). In total, 35 mothers utilized our on-course lactation support spaces in Brooklyn, a number we hope continues to grow as more athletes recognize this service is available to them.
On November 5, we will return to the TCS New York City Marathon, the largest marathon in the world, to once again bring on-course lactation support to runners. Now in our first year as an official charity partner of the marathon, we're bringing an amazing team dedicated to improving the lives of mothers and caregivers everywhere.
This summer, we created a new virtual consulting service that enables us to reach more organizations that want to bring lactation support to their events. This fall, we will provide virtual guidance to the Mover's Collective and The Running Event (TRE). Our event standardization playbook offers recommendations for event provisions, including but not limited to, lactation stations, breast milk storage and transportation, caregiver lounges, family support, deferral language (including pregnancy and postpartum), and childcare.
In 2024, we plan to expand our consulting services to more organizations, creating an inclusive and accessible experience for participants at events nationwide.
Raising awareness about the needs of mothers and caregivers
Led by our founder, Alysia Montaño, we've participated in a number of panels and discussions that seek to educate the community about the stages of motherhood, and how those stages relate to mental health, physical health, and nutrition. In the spring, Alysia moderated a powerful discussion with pelvic floor specialist Dr. Sara Tanza and professional runner Stephanie Bruce that explored the business of motherhood ahead of the Big Sur Marathon.
In May, Alysia and Brennan Grignon, our operations lead, teamed up for a keynote speech at the Child Care Aware Conference in Washington, DC, educating a new audience about &Mother's mission.
In August, Alysia and Board President Correy O'Neal traveled to Washington, DC, to stand with our partner, Bobbie, at the Black Maternal Health Caucus.
A few weeks ago, Brennan participated on a TRE panel alongside other organizations creating change in the running community, including the Low Impact Alliance, Queer Running Society, and the Running Industry Diversity Coalition. Brennan shared the importance of our partnership with TRE, which plans to provide lactation support at this year's conference for the first time ever.
We look forward to more opportunities in the months ahead to share the &Mother story. As Alysia says, "The more we can demonstrate how female athletes can thrive in both their careers and motherhood, the better we will be able to show other industries how it can be done."
Changemakers are leading the way
After supporting a fantastic group of professional athletes last year, we were able to provide three more athletes with Changemaker Grants, providing funds that mothers can use for childcare-related expenses.
This summer, we awarded $4,000 each to Betsi Flint, a five-time medalist for Team USA in beach volleyball; Mallory Weggemann, a five-time Paralympic medalist in swimming; and Jasmine Jones, a brakewoman for the United States bobsled team. We are proud to stand with these fierce advocates for mothers.
In a July Running Insight article, we announced the launch of our Black Maternal Health Grant, offered to any BIPOC athlete at any level of competition. The grant was created in response to the Black maternal mortality crisis in which Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States—69.9 per 100,000 live births for 2021, almost three times the rate for white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While we are still looking for a grant sponsor, we intend to allow applications to use grant funding to offset the out-of-pocket costs known to improve patient outcomes in the prenatal and postpartum period, including but not limited to, the use of a midwife and/or doula, lactation consultation, and therapy.
More to come in 2024
Just like our team's little ones, &Mother is growing, learning, and moving forward. We know there is much to be done, and we aim to be strong advocates for moms everywhere. Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to sharing more great news about our plans for next year and beyond.
