Showering Love (and Diapers) on Moms and Babies in Need

To celebrate Respect Life Month, the Walking with Moms in Need program is sponsoring an Archdiocesan Baby Shower throughout the month of October to collect all the necessities new moms need to welcome a baby to the family. Throughout the month, parishes, schools and agencies are invited to collect baby items for new moms including diapers, wipes, formula, bottles, clothing and other newborn necessities. 

“The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) established ‘Walking with Moms in Need: A Year of Service,’ to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Evangelium Vitae in March of 2020,” said Michelle Black, director of the Respect Life Office. “Due to COVID, things really did not get going until 2021. We started to truly promote it in the Archdiocese of New Orleans in 2022.”

“Our next major goal is to sponsor the Archdiocesan-wide (handled by individual parishes) Baby Shower, to collect baby items for women in need, to renew our focus on the Walking with Moms in Need program and to encourage networking among the parish respect-life leaders,” Black said. 

Walking with Moms in Need provides an opportunity for Catholic parishes and communities to "walk in the shoes" of local pregnant and parenting women in need, accompanying them in friendship and helping to connect moms with local resources. It works to ensure that any woman who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant or parenting in difficult circumstances, can turn to her local Catholic Church and be connected with the resources she needs. In the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the initiative is managed in partnership between the archdiocesan Respect Life Office and Catholic Charities.

“The program is designed to be run at the parish level with support from the Respect Life Office,” Black said. “The Walking with Moms in Need program will look different at every parish. Some keep a supply of emergency baby

items on site so they can meet immediate needs. Others give meaningful local resources that can assist a new mom with applying for Medicaid and  WIC, securing food for her family, finding housing or shelter, etc.” 

In the archdiocese, Walking with Moms in Need provides parishes with a framework to inventory local resources, identify gaps in services and implement a parish response based on their findings. Parishes can support local pregnancy centers where they exist, and where there are few local resources, they can create their own based on the gifts of the parish community.

“We have ministries in about 12 church parishes at this time, and our goal is to establish at least one in every geographical deanery,” Black said. “What they offer may vary from having a resource guide on sight so they can refer those in need to the appropriate resource, to some even offering diapers and gift cards through their parish office or food bank.”

She added that while it varies depending on the parish, activities to support the program include hosting informational fairs, diaper drives and baby showers. CCANO also partners with Junior League of New Orleans. 

“We started our pilot program in the archdiocese at Divine Mercy Parish in the summer of 2022. Currently St. Charles Boromeo parish has a robust Walking with Moms in Need program and is probably our most active parish at this time,” Black said. 

“The community can help by reaching out to the Respect Life Coordinator at their church parish to get involved or donating diapers and wipes to be used by their parish or a local pregnancy center.” 

How you can help

For more information about Walking With Moms in Need, https://nolacatholic.org/walking-with-moms-in-need or https://nolacatholic.org/respectlife. To host a baby shower in your parish, school or other organization contact Black at [email protected] or (504) 885-1509.