Landover community baby shower eases costs for expecting families

Hundreds of families filled the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex in Landover for a free community baby shower that aimed to do more than hand out gifts. The gathering brought expecting parents and families with young children into one space for diapers, wipes, car-seat support and access to help that many households now need before the baby arrives and long after the party ends.

MedStar Health hosted the third annual Community Baby Shower and Resource Fair on Saturday, June 27, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 8001 Sheriff Road. The event included free diapers and wipes while supplies lasted, door prizes, giveaways, more than 45 community partners and a new Dad Den, reflecting a push to make the day useful for fathers as well as mothers. Families also connected with resources tied to doctor visits, SNAP, WIC, housing and insurance, turning the shower into a practical access point for early parenting support.

The event has become a fixture in Prince George’s County because the need behind it is so concrete. MedStar has said the county’s maternal mortality rate is 50% higher than the national average and 40% above Maryland’s average, and that only about 55% of women in Prince George’s County receive prenatal healthcare. Those numbers have helped shape PG Healthy Start, the maternal-health effort MedStar launched at the second-annual baby shower in April 2025.

PG Healthy Start is designed to expand access to comprehensive healthcare and education during pregnancy and for up to two years postpartum, extending the reach of what begins at the baby shower into the months when families often struggle most with appointments, transportation, infant supplies and emotional strain. That broader approach was visible at this year’s event, where MedStar described the fair as its largest of its kind in Prince George’s County.

The community backbone of the event was visible, too. Volunteers from Clinton Baptist Church helped organize the fair, and Pastor Colin Pugh has said the gathering is the largest of its kind in the county. A 2025 version of the event at Clinton Baptist Church drew about 27 nonprofits and countywide services such as WIC, showing how a one-day celebration has grown into a coordinated response to the basic needs that shape maternal and infant health.