Mila’s Baby and Me is a pre-packed maternity bag business that was founded in July, 2020 by Kamila Atherley, a nurse attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH). Atherley ventured into the business after realizing that many of the expecting new mothers who enter the maternity ward either lack the necessary supplies or had more than necessary.
Atherley began working at the GPH in 2009 before leaving for Trinidad in 2015 with her son; they lived there for a year before returning to Guyana. After Atherley returned from Trinidad, she resumed working again at the GPH and was assigned to the maternity block. The nurse shared that several factors had delayed the start of the business. It is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.
The starting of the business occurred during the height of the pandemic, but was not adversely impacted, which was Kamila’s major concern. In fact, according to the entrepreneur, she believes that the business might have emerged at the right time when persons were being instructed to practice social distancing. As such, many expectant mothers were happy to learn that such a service was available, releasing them from COVID-19 fears when it required going from store to store looking for essential items for both mother and baby. Both the price of the bag and the packaging varies; there is a standard pre-packed maternity bag for the public hospital and another for the private hospital. There is also an economy bag for the mothers who cannot afford the standard bags while also available is the partial bag which caters for mothers-to-be who already have some of the items and only need a bit more. There is also a deluxe bag which comes with an added flask, a food bowl, a cup, and a breast pump. All the bags come with a complimentary sanitizer and facemask. There is also a ‘build your own bag’ specifically for expectant mothers who require a caesarian section and therefore would be hospitalized longer and as such will be in need of extra items. The bags include duster nightgown, sanitary pads, pampers, slippers, toiletries, blankets, mittens and baby wipes among other things. The economy and deluxe bags are custom-made by Kamila’s sister, designer Akilah Atherley.
Each bag comes with a booklet she has specially prepared for both mother and fathers. The booklet contains information from credible sources on important things that parents need to know when it comes to taking care of their new born. Important information such as proper positions for breastfeeding, the proper way in cleaning the baby’s umbilical cord stump (referred to as the navel cord) to prevent infection, as well as other vital information are included in the booklet. Kamila continuously updates her booklets as new information emerges.
“The most satisfying part of what I do, is when I can give advice to someone who may be scared [in this life changing experience], to be able to comfort them and guide them along and make this journey easier for them…” said Kamila. The nurse shared the story of a colleague whose neighbour was having her third child but could not afford all the essential items for the hospital. According to Kamila, someone who overheard her colleague and the colleague’s sister’s conversation about the neighbour was immediately touched and wanting to help, purchased one of the maternity bags. A client also reached out to the entrepreneur commending her for coming up with such a business idea and shared with her how much walking the pre-packaged maternity bags have saved her. For Atherley, its stories like these that warms her heart.
“I ask a lot of questions when clients call, whether they are going to a private or public hospital, what their budget is, whether it is a boy or girl, their sizes so that I can purchase the correct nightgown or slippers. Under [garments] are also available and can be added to the bag depending on whether clients are comfortable with that being included. There is also a unisex bag for the parents that don’t yet know the gender of their baby”, detailed Kamila. She further noted that finding large sizes can be quite a challenge sometimes as many of the stores do not have the sizes available. However, with time, she often manages to take care of this with more searching involved.
Among her clients was a father who contacted her to find out whether she had all that would be needed for his baby, having learnt that his girlfriend was pregnant. One mother, Kamila noted, contacted her to find out the same but has not yet purchased as she didn’t want to jinx the birth of her baby (the expectant mother has had three miscarriages). Family and friends, she noted, have been really supportive taking time out to advertise her business. Kamila is presently a nurse at the Post Anesthesia Maternity ward, GPH. Though she works fulltime, most of her shopping for her business is done on her days off. While most of the items included in the bags are purchased locally, there are some that she needs to have imported. Clients are therefore required to place their orders a few days in advance but, according to Kamila, even at times, when she is contacted at the last minute, she almost always has the necessary items.
As a nurse, Atherley is not allowed to conduct her business at the hospital but should persons be in need of a bag at any time, provisions can be made to have that taken care of. The bags come at the cost for standard public ($20,000), standard private ($18,000), deluxe bags ($40,000), economy ($14,000/$15,000), partial bags ($5,000-$10,000), while ‘build your own bag’ prices vary.
Mila’s Baby & Me can be contacted on Facebook or at 639-4572.
