Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alex Richardson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alex, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

Ever since I was five, I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but what I did not realize, after 8 years of teaching high school Spanish, is that having my own child would change everything. With what I was making teaching and what the cost of daycare was, it really was not worth it for me to go back. After having a rough labor and delivery, a second degree tear, undiagnosed postpartum anxiety and ONE doctor’s appointment in which they did not catch my PPA or refer me to see a pelvic floor physical therapist despite my scar tissue from birth, I realize there is a SEVERE lack of care for women post birth in this country. Two years later I had my son and had basically the same experience and knew I had to do something about it. I prayed on it for the summer and decided I would start a nonprofit to help mothers after giving birth. I had never worked professionally in the nonprofit realm, but I knew I wanted our services to be free to help any woman who needed support and education on resources postpartum. I sought counsel, got our 501c3 and launched Mom Club, Inc which became 4th Trimester Mission in January of 2022. I started simple, by hosting new mother meetups in my home to give women a safe place to find community in the early, lonely days of postpartum. We grew to offer a home visit program where we deliver meals sponsored by Clean Eatz and a gift bag to new mothers. We also educate women on resources that are available such as mental health support, pelvic floor phsyical therapy, chiropractic, lactation support and more. It has been a whirlwind, but in two years we have support over 200 mothers and have done over 115 home visits.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Oops… I feel like I answered this in the first one.

The United States is basically the lowest on the list when it comes to developed countries and maternity leave. There is no guaranteed paid leave in this country and most women are forced to go back to work after six weeks when their body has barely healed and their child still desperately needs the comfort of mom. It is infuriating that we do such a poor job taking care of women and families in this country.

After doing some research I only found one other program in the country similar to what we are doing and it is called 4th Trimester out of Arizona. They do similar meetups to build community and share resources with families.

My goal is to be able to have 4th Trimester Mission chapters nationwide with new mama meetups in every city. I hope to have someone in each city who is gathering postpartum resources to share with mothers and educate on what PPD/PPA can look like, when it can be beneficial to see a pelvic floor physical therapist (hint: always), and spread awareness on just how much support women need in this phase of life.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Being a start up 501c3 non-profit is all about running on passion. You do not start a non-profit for the money, and while a liveable salary would be nice one day, I am happy to build organization on my love for motherhood and seeing other women succeed in postpartum.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I would say the most effective strategy for us so far has been social media! We had done maybe less than $250 in paid advertising in 2 years and have had a very successful start for a nonprofit. I am active in various groups and try to incorporate our clientele in our pages.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://4thtrimestermission.com/
• Instagram: instagram.com/4thtrimestermission
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/4thtrimestermission
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-richardson-9a955140/

Image Credits
Daria Amato Quasheera Gamble