PERRY, Ga. — As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child.
An event in Perry on Saturday hopes to give families and their village the knowledge they need to raise the next generation.
Patricia Prime is a registered nurse and doula with Prime Baby Time Consulting.
She's gathered several vendors and experts for the second annual Maternal Health Expo in Perry.
"It's really to kind of shed light on the maternal mortality issues and the morbidity that we face in our community as African Americans and as women," Prime said.
She says African American women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from a maternal event than their white counterparts.
Prime says even though maternal mortality affects some communities more than others, it remains an issue everyone should know more about.
She says the more people who are able to spot a maternal problem, the sooner a parent can get the help they need.
"Once we start to educate the community, I think people will have more information, they'll have more knowledge, and we'll be able to take more of a stance on, 'You know what? We need to get this looked at,'" she said.
Prime is a postpartum doula, which means she helps parents after a child is born with cleaning, cooking, lactation, understanding child development, and, of course, a kind shoulder to lean on.
Postpartum can be hard on those who recently gave birth, and Prime says she wants to make the transition into parenthood as easy as possible where both child and parent feel cared for.
"I do this work because I'm so passionate about making sure a mom doesn't die," Prime said.
She says if a family's village takes the time to learn about how to care for those with child in their communities, there is a chance at everyone having more successful births and post-partum experiences.
She sees a family's village as not just those related to them, but anyone in their circle who cares for them.
"People who know you that are kind of wrapped around you. They know you just had a baby, can they just come in and say, 'Hey, how you doing? You need anything? Can I watch the baby for you while you sleep? Do you need your clothes washed?'" Prime said, "Something to wrap around that mom so she knows she doesn't have to do this alone."
She says when you're preparing for a baby shower and other events, parents can take the time to ask for the help they need in addition to or instead of gifts.
She truly believes it takes a village.
"I don't want maternal mortality to become an issue for anybody but I don't want you to wait until it becomes an issue for you. Let's start now, moving in, and taking care of the maternal family now. If we don't take care of them now we'll find ourselves taking care of their children later," Prime said.
The expo is Saturday at Rozar Park in Perry from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, and the first 100 attendees will get a free swag bag.
Warner Robins Mayor LaRhonda Patrick will be a guest speaker at the expo.