We were lucky to catch up with Ebony Ford recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ebony, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

In 2018, after a completely uneventful pregnancy, I was 26 weeks pregnant, suffering from HELLP Syndrome (a deadly form of preeclampsia resulting in multi-organ failure, hypertension, low platelets, and death). Just 3 days prior I was in my doctor’s office complaining of symptoms that were dismissed. As a result of this condition I was placed on life support and my daughter Reign Victoria was born weighing just 1lb 15oz. She went on to spend 3 months in the NICU and I was left wondering what I could do to help prevent this from happening to other families so I began documenting our journey in the NICU on Instagram.

Our first year after leaving the NICU was filled with lots of hospital admissions and doctor visits. I found myself advocating for her as I wished I had advocated for myself in that doctor’s office. Just a year later the COVID-19 pandemic began and I had connected with over 3,000 preemie parents on Instagram. I was introduced to the Clubhouse audio app where I began holding lunchtime chats and a room with a dozen preemie moms soon became The Miracle Mamas Club which now has 394 members–all parents of premature, medically complex or disabled children. I began hosting weekly game nights where I gave away cash prizes, gift cards, self-care items, and more just to help these tired and overworked parents. I don’t regret anything about our journey, except that I didn’t launch out sooner. For the person who is looking to begin their own passion work, my sole piece of advice is to do it NOW! Countless people are waiting for what you have in you heart to share and hands to orchestrate.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My nonprofit Miracle Mamas is a boutique consulting firm that helps hospitals to find their role in ending the maternal health crisis within the US, teaches them how to support at-risk OB patients and NICU families. We also support parents and caretakers of children and young adults who are premature, medically-complex or disabled through weekly support groups, transportation assistance, copay assistance, meal trains, referrals, paperwork completion services and more.

To date, we have helped 3 hospitals, 4 NICU’s, 64 NICU families and countless others who have joined our support groups and consulted with us. I am extremely proud of the work that we have been able to accomplish during our 2 years of operation and we are looking to expand in this coming year. We currently have 394 members in our Clubhouse group and will be expanding to include 2 Zoom support groups in the coming months–one for birth trauma survivors and another for preemie parents.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I became an EMT in my senior year of high school and absolutely loved the field. I went on to become a paramedic while obtaining my Bachelors degree and after an injury began medical billing courses. I had no idea that the birth of my daughter would cause me to need to pivot and become a stay at home mother. Thanks to my amazing husband, it was a no brainer for me to stay home and take care of my medically fragile child who doctors said would never be able to go to daycare. I can admit that during the first year I lost myself in motherhood and lost my passion. But I realized that my passion had a place and that was advocacy. I began working with March of Dimes to spread prematurity awareness and soon branched out to create Miracle Mamas.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I was raised during a time where traditional gender roles were the norm. If your husband worked, you stayed home to cook, clean and care for your children. Not only that, but you beared the weight of the family upkeep on your shoulders while the husband carried the financial burden of the home. If you were a single woman you worked to become extremely independent until you got married. But I had to learn that marriage is a partnership and that not every marriage works the same way. When my husband and I came together I was the breadwinner. But due to my daughters condition, I had to give up my profession and stay home. Her appointments and care left little time for me to manage everything in the home. I found myself staying up all hours of the night trying to cook, clean and do what I couldn’t accomplish during the day. But my husband had to help me unlearn that and allow him to help me where needed. He would come home and take care of the baby so that I could do what I needed to do in the home or he would clean and cook while I cared for the baby. The success of the family is on both partners and sometimes we will need to pivot to ensure that the family is taken care of. It is because of my amazing husband that I am able to give my all to Miracle Mamas and my home.

Contact Info:

• Website: miraclemamas.org
• Instagram: @andweshallreign (personal) @miraclemamasllc (nonprofit)

Image Credits
Ebony Ford miraclemamas.org