Embrace Refugee Birth

Embracing refugee women in one of the most vulnerable and special times of their lives.

A refugee mother holds her infant while posing outside for a photo.

Navigating the complexities of motherhood

Pregnancy for New American mothers is often a time of great joy—and great vulnerability. They face complex healthcare systems, language barriers, and unfamiliar cultural expectations. Even arranging transportation to a doctor’s appointment can be challenging.

Guiding expectant mothers

Our Embrace program guides refugee mothers through every step of their pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum experiences. Our specially trained childbirth educators, postpartum doulas, and breastfeeding specialists help New American mothers navigate every step of a life-changing experience. 

More than half of the Embrace team hails from the refugee community, so we understand what our mothers are going through—and can share knowledge in their heritage languages.

An Embrace Refugee Birth instructor gestures to an instructional slide while another instructor and a group of expecting mothers look on during a Healthy Moms class.

We believe every refugee mother should feel informed, supported, and confident during this transformative time.

“Embrace gives us hope and it’s always supporting us. It’s our family.”

-Embrace client

Get involved

An Embrace Refugee Birth instructor leads a Moms Circle gathering.

Classes and curriculum

Refer a mother to our program—or find out more about our classes, and how you can license our curriculum for your organization.


Find a class

Volunteer requirements

  1. Female, at least 18 years old, required.
  2. Weekday availability, required.
  3. Openness to multicultural, multi-religious, and refugee populations, required.

Individual opportunities include: 

Group opportunities include hosting a baby shower for a group of 10-15 pregnant mothers (weekdays, onsite in Clarkston), participating in a diaper drive, or a facility clean-up project. 

Note: In addition to the Introduction to Friends of Refugees workshop, an Embrace volunteer orientation is required for individual volunteers.



volunteer form

A group of Embrace Refugee Birth volunteers pose for a photo in front of windows and curtains.

In-kind donations

We gladly accept in-kind donations from our wishlist. Shop our list on Amazon, or drop off new or gently-used items from the list below. Contact us to schedule a time for a drop-off:
embrace.birth@friendsofrefugees.com



Amazon wishlist

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