Baltimore hospital hosts free baby shower with supplies and Medicaid help

Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital turned its Baltimore campus into a one-stop baby budget stop, offering diapers, car seats, breast pumps and Medicaid help to families preparing for a newborn. The free community baby shower, held April 24 from noon to 3 p.m., was built around the practical costs that hit before a baby arrives, not just the celebration.

Families who came through could pick up baby clothes, diapers, wipes, bottles, car seats and breast pumps, while also talking with Maryland Physicians Care representatives about Medicaid eligibility and member benefits. The insurer said pregnant members may qualify for free health care for mother and baby, no copays for doctor visits, free prescription drugs, free breast pumps, doula support and home-visiting services. That made the event as much about keeping parents connected to care as handing out supplies.

Rachel Rothwell, a high-risk maternal health social worker at Saint Agnes, said many families do not have the money to buy everything they need ahead of time, especially when they are dealing with unstable housing or financial stress. That reality is what gives the event its weight in Baltimore, where the cost of a newborn can quickly collide with rent, groceries and transportation. A single diaper bag can stretch a household budget before delivery day even arrives.

The shower also drew on a wider network of support. Doulas were part of the event, along with exercise demonstrations focused on safe pregnancy, raffles and educational support. Hospital staff, friends, family members and former patients donated many of the items, showing how local networks often step in when families need immediate help. The setup made the hospital feel less like a place people visit only for delivery and more like a place where practical help begins earlier.

That role fits a larger citywide effort to reduce infant deaths. B’more for Healthy Babies launched in 2009 as Baltimore City’s strategy to bring down infant mortality. Johns Hopkins reported that the city’s infant mortality rate fell to 7.5 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2021, the lowest figure on record at that time. Even so, a 2025 WYPR report said Baltimore City still has one of the highest infant mortality rates in Maryland and received an F in the 2024 March of Dimes report card.

Ascension Saint Agnes says its maternal-health department delivers high-risk pregnancy care for mother and baby, and that it has served the greater Baltimore community for more than 150 years. In a city where maternal health and economic insecurity still overlap, the baby fair offered a clear message: a safe start can depend on diapers, information and access to insurance as much as it does on a hospital bed.