‘Bring back that village’: New group in Crete offers support system for moms

CRETE, Neb. (KLKN) – Mary Phipps, owner of the Alpha Omega Chiropractic Office, has been thinking of a way for local mothers to gather together for a while now.

“Women have babies, they go to the hospital and they’re taken care of,” she said. “But a lot of times, the majority of attention turns to the baby, and we don’t forget about moms, but we don’t do the same type of check-ins as we are on babies. So the idea is to give mothers a safe place to come to voice some concerns.”

With a new year beginning, she thought, “What better time than now?”

So she started the Mothers’ Circle, which is held in her office.

Phipps sees this as a way to be one another’s village.

“Historically, women used to have a village,” she said. “They’d have babies, and they’d have women in the community that would surround them to make sure they were well taken care of. So the idea is to really bring back that village and making sure that moms are taken care of so they can ultimately be the best mother, be the best wife, whatever fill in the blank they can be because they have that good foundation support.”

The group meets on the fourth Saturday of every month at 10 a.m.

This past Saturday, she said the first Mothers’ Circle was full of laughter, vulnerability and connection.

She also told Channel 8 about the main concerns that mothers are voicing.

“Concerns maybe about the birth process or things that happen after birth” she said. “What postpartum care would look like. A lot of moms have concerns with feeding or sometimes when kids are older, like, is it normal for my kid to constantly have a runny nose? Or what did you do when your kid had a sore throat? Having members of the community be able to voice their advice on those concerns is just really helpful.”

The group is open to infants under 6 months, but the main focus is the mothers and having time for themselves.

Whether you have older children or are in the beginning phases of starting a family, Phipps said everyone is welcome.

The next meeting of the group is on Feb. 15.