As a doctor of Obstetrics and Gynocology, Jaclyn Nunziato moved from New York to Roanoke, Virginia with a deep understanding of the importance of healthcare during pregnancy. So, when she discovered that many women in southwest Virginia were struggling to access the education and resources they needed to navigate their pregnancy and postpartum experiences, she came up with an idea to help.
“We haven't really provided mothers with the infrastructure and the support they need to facilitate a healthy pregnancy or a healthy postpartum,” Nunziato said. “In fact, we've set up so many barriers and we've created so much friction that it's everything but that. And so that's really the heart of why we started Huddle Up Moms.”
Launched in 2019, Huddle Up Moms is a community-based organization designed to create a foundation for confident, informed parenting by providing education, connections and support to new and expectant mothers. In addition to a support shop and diaper bank where mothers can access diapers, clothing and other necessities for their babies, Huddle Up Moms provides educational classes to mothers and expectant mothers on topics like finance, safe sleep, car seat safety, nutrition, child development, breastfeeding, labor, delivery and postpartum health.
As the executive director of Huddle Up Moms, Nunziato says that while some women enter their pregnancies with chronic diseases like diabetes or hypertension, even healthy women face risks brought about by pregnancy, which increases a woman’s blood volume, changes her lung capacity and increases the amount of blood her heart pumps with each heartbeat, all of which could put a new mother at risk long after the delivery itself.
“What we're seeing is that postpartum women are going to the emergency rooms and to smaller health care spaces and they're being turned away because people don't recognize the risk is still there, and it's still there for the whole year,” Nunziato said. “There needs to be education both in the community and in the healthcare space, and so we're really trying to combat both of those things.”
Jaclyn Nunziato, MD (fourth from left), poses with the speakers from the Be Vocal event, which brought together women in Roanoke, VA. Photo by Amber Perdue Photography
New mothers face a variety of health risks for up to a year after their pregnancy. The goal of the Hear Her project is to raise awareness about potentially life-threatening warning signs during and after pregnancy.
The Be Vocal event gave woman the chance to share their stories and build connections with others who have gone through similar experiences. Photo by Amber Perdue Photography
Using resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Hear Her® maternal health communication campaign, the CDC Foundation is supporting Huddle Up Moms and 11 other community-based organizations across the country to identify and address urgent maternal warning signs and improve patient provider communication. The goal is to raise awareness about potentially life-threatening warning signs during and after pregnancy by reaching three key audiences: pregnant and postpartum women, the health care providers who serve them and their support networks—including partners, family, members and friends—who play a critical role in recognizing warning signs and encouraging women to get help if something doesn’t feel right.
To help raise that awareness, Huddle Up Moms hosted Be Vocal, a postpartum storytelling event in Roanoke. Featuring eight speakers, all mothers who shared personal stories of health issues they faced during and after their pregnancies, the March 2026 event was designed to educate women on health risks and empower them to speak up for their own healthcare. Each storyteller covered different postpartum health experiences and shared personal details that resonated with the audience of other mothers.
“I just don't think when you read the numbers and when you read the statistics, it really sinks in until it either affects you or you hear a story,” Nunziato said. “The more human factors we can put into these stories and the more that we can elevate these voices by giving them a platform, the more we can join together and really reach a common ground to do better for the women and families in our community.”
I just don't think when you read the numbers and when you read the statistics, it really sinks in until it either affects you or you hear a story
In an area that has seen 25 percent of its maternity wards close in the last eight years, with only one perinatal mental health provider for every 5,000 deliveries, Nunziato says that teaching mothers to advocate for their own health is critical.
“You may not have the right words, and you may not know the medical terminology, but you know your body best,” Nunziato said. “So, I would advocate for women to listen to themselves and to speak up for themselves and to elevate their voices in any arena that you can,” which is the driving factor behind the Be Vocal event.
As both a medical doctor and a passionate advocate for women’s health, Nunziato says the personal experiences—hearing stories from women at the Be Vocal event and being approached by others with their own stories of health—are what motivates her to continue the vital work of Huddle Up Moms.
“I feel like success looks like having people come up to us and say that we made a significant difference. I think that's been one of the most rewarding and eye-opening pieces for me,” Nunziato said. “Success looks like elevating people out of their depression. It means connecting them to friends and a network, and it means making them feel like they're not isolated and alone.”