The Alabama Prison Birth Project is dedicated to
Healthy babies.
Bonded mothers.
The Alabama Prison Birth Project (APBP) is an active program within the Ostara Initiative.
Our Mission
To improve the health of newborns birthed by women in custody while strengthening maternal bonds and maternal self-efficacy.
Our Vision
All mothers giving birth in Alabama's criminal justice system will have healthy births and will not be separated from their newborns, ensuring normal child development and promoting positive maternal change within.
Our Founders
Chauntel Norris, Co-Founder (Left) & Ashley Lovell, Co-Founder Emeritus (Right)
APBP began with the decision to respond to the needs of incarcerated mothers.
In September 2015, Clayton Wheat of Corizon Correctional Health (now known as YesCare) invited local doulas to provide childbirth classes to the women in custody at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women who were pregnant. He also reached out to the Minnesota Prison Doula Project to explore options for bringing gender responsive, trauma informed care to these women.
At the end of 2015, Alabama Prison Birth Project was incorporated under the name East Alabama Birth Village and became a 501c3. We brought childbirth education and support to Tutwiler once per month, along with providing other birth-related services in East Alabama. In early 2017, the organization's board voted to focus solely on prison birth support and changed the non-profit's name to The Alabama Prison Birth Project.
In December 2018, the APBP board voted to approve an acquisition by Ostara Initiative, Inc., the home of the Minnesota Prison Doula Project, to create long-term stability and sustainability for our work in Alabama and elsewhere. The acquisition was completed on June 30, 2019, and APBP became a program of Ostara Initiative, Inc.
Our Current Program Team
Many thanks to our amazing partners who make our work possible!
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Chauntel Norris is one of the co-founders and the current Program Director for the Alabama Prison Birth Project. She is a leading expert in lactation during incarceration. She is a native of Birmingham, AL, and attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she earned her B.A. in African American Studies & her B.S. in Psychology. Chauntel is a DONA trained Birth & Postartum Doula, a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator and a Certified Lactation Counselor. She is an active member of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, a community transformer for Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere, and was a 2021 Healthy Communities Fellow at the Aspen Institute. She is also the Co-Founder of Baobab Birth Collective.
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Gabrielle Daniels is the current Program Assistant of the Alabama Prison Birth Project and offers direct birth doula services to APBP clients. A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Gabrielle has a broad background in research, public health, public education, theology, and birth work. Gabrielle’s educational background includes her Bachelors of Science from Iowa State University (2010), Master of Public Health from the Yale School of Public Health (2016), and Masters of Arts in Christian Studies from Duke Divinity School (2017). Her research and service interests have focused on the social determinants of health for women and children; the intersection of theology, medicine, and culture; historical memory work related to racial injustice in America. Her faith, work, and background continue to inform her efforts to serve the needs of vulnerable populations both domestically and abroad.
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Adiliah Smith is an APBP team doula, supporting our clients with birth doula and lactation support. An alumna of Alabama State University, Adiliah’s educational background includes bachelor degrees in Biology & Secondary Education minoring in Mathematics. Beginning her career in secondary education as a classroom teacher, she shifted to maternal health a decade later. She is the owner of Village Maternal Services in Montgomery, Alabama, where she serves as a maternal health consultant, doula and lactation specialist. Her community involvement work extends across many organizations including her support group, Mama’s Village MGM; her annual “Community Mommy Shower” event; the Breastfeeding Task Force at Baptist Medical Center South; the Governor’s Initiative Breastfeeding Work Group with the Alabama Department of Public Health; the Wellness Coalition’s REACH Advisory Committee; R.O.S.E. (Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere); DONA; and Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association. In 2022, Adiliah was inducted into Alabama State University's “50 under 50,” an honor given to alumni making impacts in their careers and community.
Our Program Outcomes
As of April 2023
Program Connections
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We appreciate the access we receive at Julia Tutwiler’s Women’s Prison to serve pregnant and postpartum women during their custody at this Alabama Department of Corrections facility.
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We appreciate every individual and organization who has supported our work in donations, time, and in-kind support.
Our philanthropic partners over the years have included, but are not limited to:
We are honored to receive a generous operating grant from the WK Kellogg Foundation to work to expand our reach throughout the South and the rest of the country. The Foundation has funded our thought leadership and production of our Vision Class with Ostara, helping us to spread innovative ideas into new spaces in the criminal legal system.
The Children's Trust Fund of Alabama
We are honored to receive a generous grant from the Children's Trust Fund, a vital part of protecting Alabama children by supporting evidence-based, community programming to strengthen families and reduce risks of child abuse and neglect. Trauma-informed care is a big part of working with families who are at risk, and every service we provide is at the heart of reducing the experience of maternal and parental trauma - a major risk factor of child maltreatment. The Fund is administered through the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention.
The Ascension Foundation for Health Equity
The Ascension Foundation for Health Equity supports APBP by helping us focus on the postpartum experience of mothers and their newborns in our program. The Foundation strives to address to the root causes of health disparities by funding innovative solutions, and with regards to the postpartum period, it knows that the health of birthing people directly impacts the health of their infants. We are working with the Foundation to develop a better understanding of the postpartum year among incarcerated mothers, babies, and caregivers, while also working to improve birth and mental health outcomes which reduces rates of maternal and infant mortality.
The Women's Foundation of Alabama
Dedicated to improving the economic stability and growth of Alabama women, The Women's Foundation of Alabama recently funded our work to help the families caring for our clients' newborns. Focusing on the 8 dimensions of wellness, we will provide support to our clients and those caring for their children. Through this partnership, we can focus on strengthening families economically so there are better support systems in place when our clients return to their communities.
The Daniel Foundation of Alabama
The Daniel Foundation of Alabama awarded Alabama Prison Birth Project a grant from its Health Priority Area. The Daniel Foundation's mission is to strengthen communities within Alabama and improve the quality of life for citizens from all regions of Alabama. Its Health Grant provides support to programs providing mental health services for the underserved, and we are proud and honored to be aligned with that goal on behalf of incarcerated, pregnant people in Alabama.
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
When we asked, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church answered. After increasing the number of our visits to Tutwiler, we needed an additional meal each month. Holy Trinity immediately volunteered. By providing this food, Holy Trinity is nourishing the developing babies and moms in an environment where they are subjected to a significant level of stress. Moms who are postpartum need a great deal of iron-boosting foods. There's no better way to show love and kindness than to feed someone who needs it. We are so grateful to Holy Trinity for stepping up. Since the first year Holy Trinity began preparing food, it has since gone on to support our clients in other ways: through baby supplies, financial support for our organization, and in re-entry needs.
The Caring Foundation of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama
The Caring Foundation of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama awarded Alabama Prison Birth Project a grant in 2019, 2020, and 2023. The Caring Foundation's mission is to give back to the community by supporting initiatives to improve the health, wellness, and education of Alabamians. We are proud and honored to be aligned with that goal on behalf of incarcerated, pregnant people in Alabama.
Central Alabama Community Foundation
The Central Alabama Community Foundation provided funding to cover the cost of 54 one:one doula support visits to our clients in Tutwiler Prison. This supports the relationship building between client and doula that is unique to this important intervention. Doulas meet with their clients in the prenatal and postpartum period, and most importantly, at the hospital during labor and delivery and during separation from the newborn. CACF helps us live out our tag line: "No one births alone".
Society Hill Methodist Church
We are so pleased Society Hill UMC wanted to provide food for the growing babies and mothers inside Tutwiler Prison for Women. The entire congregation pitches in to provide healthy fats, protein, and vitamin-rich food one Tuesday each month. We are privileged to take their culinary skills and generosity to the Birthing Care Group.
Alabama Prison Birth Project Blanket and Hat Volunteers
After one local mom in Auburn donated a hand-crocheted blanket and hat and posted about it on social media, we were overwhelmed with questions about how other hand crafters could help. This facebook group was born. Knitters and crocheters post from everywhere the creations they are working on and shipping. A beautiful matching blanket and hat is one of the most beloved items our clients receive. Without the opportunity for a baby shower, this is one gift they can give their baby and one way we can shower the moms. The blankets and hats have a powerful biological role in their experience, too. Our moms learn that placing the blanket on mom's chest gathers her smell, and the baby's hat gathers up the ooey-gooey newborn smell. When they separate, mom is allowed to keep the hat, and the blanket goes with the baby. It's a beautiful way for volunteers to engage with our work.
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Executive Director, Erica Gerrity, WI
Board Chair, Colleen Bell, PhD, St. Paul, MN
Board Secretary, Tommy Franklin, St. Paul, MN
Board Treasurer, Gwen Bradford, Marietta, GA
Board Director, Richard Rice, J.D., Birmingham, AL
Board Director, Genevive Bojado, AR
Board Director, Josh Christofferson, Hawley, MN
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We appreciate the collaboration of Dr. Rebecca Shlafer, PhD, for NIH research advancing the cause of understanding the challenges and solutions to ending the harm of prison birth in America.
Partners make our
prison birth work
Possible
Without the generous support of our partners, we would not be able to support mother-baby connections, increase the resilience of our clients, and reduce the harm of prison birth in our communities.
Whether our partners are $10 monthly donors, givers of baby bag supplies, or philanthropic partners that support our larger program expenses, every seed sown is valued and needed to make sure no mom or baby experiences birth or separation alone.
