Hundreds of expectant parents and caregivers came out Saturday for the Tulsa Health Department’s 10th annual North Tulsa Community Baby Shower. It attracts about 150 people each year and features a photo booth with a professional photographer as well as resources for expecting parents.
Kathy Kleine Crabtree, THD’s maternal child health outreach manager, told The Eagle educating families on safe sleeping was the original focus of the event.
A 2017 Oklahoma Watch report found that from 2014 to 2016, 149 Oklahoma children younger than 1 died because of unsafe sleeping practices.
Although safe sleeping remains a focus of the event, organizers have expanded to include topics like car seat safety and prenatal healthcare access. This year, pediatricians were on site to answer questions from soon-to-be parents.
A 2023 March of Dimes report found Oklahoma was 46th in the nation for infant mortality. Some women have turned to doulas to guide them through the birthing and postpartum journey.
“There’s a lot of complications after delivery and we have had some unfortunate experiences with that,” Crabtree said. “So we want to make sure we’re empowering moms to know how to talk to doctors.”
Organizers also emphasized the role of fathers in childcare.
The event featured a fatherhood hub for men to learn about the resources available to them such as Birthright Living Legacy and Dad2Dad, a virtual class for fathers to connect, seek advice and share experiences.
“Fatherhood involvement is another thing that of course we want to promote. Everybody’s better off when dads are involved and educated,” she said.
Sekou Clincy, the fatherhood program manager at the Parent Child Center of Tulsa, agrees. The center offers fathers a 12-week parenting class.
He wants dads and father figures to understand the importance they play in children’s lives.
“We need to think about (fathers) in how we deliver services throughout not only Tulsa but the state and the nation,” Clincy said. “If we do not put them as a priority, if we do not continue to recognize fathers … I think it can be a social consequence down the road.”
On Saturday, Clincy guided expecting and experienced fathers through changing diapers and, with the help of inflated balloons stuffed under their shirts, simulated the experience of cleaning and exercising while pregnant.
They bent over to pick up items off of the floor and did modified pushups while Clincy advised them: “Don’t hurt that baby!”
“This gives them a sensitivity — particularly the balloon game — on what their partners or wives or significant others or girlfriends are experiencing,” he told The Eagle. “Of course they will never really know, but they will have a pretty good idea of some of the duties that they signed up for.”
Crabtree ultimately hopes the event can address the state’s maternal and infant health disparities.
“I would like to say there’d be a day where we wouldn’t need something like this,” she said. “But we unfortunately still continue to have those numbers, so we will continue to do it as long as it’s needed.”
