It still takes a village to raise a child – thankfully, that village is growing

Life With a Baby (LWAB)

In 2008, Claire Zlobin founded a parent peer support network called Life With A Baby (LWAB) following her experience with postpartum depression and the feelings of isolation, anxiety, and loneliness that came with it. Through everyday supports like coffee meet-ups, stroller walks, and workshops, LWAB provides a gateway to peer-led mental health supports for pregnant and new parents who need it.

“This is a volunteer-led organization, and for many moms, their prior experience was lonely and isolating,” explains Claire. “This is an early and low-cost intervention to catch you before you fall through the cracks.”

Foundation Manager Allison Flynn-Bowman sees the value in connection between new moms and parents. “We had a coffee meet-up for the first time in a long while since the onset of the pandemic. There were six moms there, and we had the opportunity to catch up and share updates about how our kids have progressed over the years. There was just an amazing sense of camaraderie in that moment.”

This year, the team is working to resume their in-person programming and also have their eyes on furthering their reach. “The pandemic has been long and challenging for us, and many of the programs and community events we had planned had to be halted or shifted to virtual interactions,” notes Claire. “We can finally take our foot off the break and are starting to see rejuvenation in our programming, including a new peer train-the-trainer program.”

During the pandemic, Life With A Baby worked on a new strategic and sustainability plan, as well as a communications and engagement strategy, to support their expansion across Canada.