Case Study: Every Baby Guilford — Speaking the Language of Trust

Every Baby Guilford was born from a generational crisis rooted in systemic racism. In Guilford County, North Carolina, Black infants are more than twice as likely to die before their first birthday compared to white infants. These tragic disparities are the result of systemic racism embedded in our healthcare, economic, and social systems. 

In response, EBG emerged as a collective action movement committed to disrupting longstanding health outcomes and racial disparities in infant mortality, starting with Black moms and babies. However, as the work deepened, another truth became evident: Latino families were also being left behind—not just by the system, but by the very solutions meant to create equity, with language barriers as one of the limiting factors. 

Spanish-speaking families were navigating pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood with limited culturally relevant support and few materials available in their native language. Critical moments of care were lost in translation.

EBG saw the need and acted. That’s where HAG came in: to help expand the movement, support language justice, and ensure that every family, regardless of race, was included in the future of care.

The Problem: Critical Information Wasn’t Reaching Latino Families

Despite EBG’s deep investment in community well-being, they faced major challenges:

• English-dominant materials left Spanish-speaking parents behind.
  
  
• Sensitive topics like birth planning and sexual health were not being communicated clearly or empathetically in their native language.
  
  
• Lack of culturally relevant messaging made it difficult to foster trust and continued engagement.
  
  
• Families didn’t feel safe or empowered enough to navigate the systems meant to support them.

Our Role: Making Communications Feel Personal, Respectful, and Possible

Through an ongoing collaboration with EBG, HAG created a suite of Spanish and bilingual materials that helped transform how families engage with maternal health resources.

What We Did

• Developed culturally attuned toolkits and materials such as:
  
  
• Plan de Parto (Birth Plan)
  
  
• ¿Qué es una Doula? (What is a Doula?)
  
  
• Are You Thinking Ahead?
  
  
• Created accessible, bilingual social media campaigns to increase visibility and trust.
  
  
• Crafted event communications that were inclusive, welcoming, and clear.
  
  
• Provided consistent design and messaging support to ensure a unified, warm tone across platforms. 

The Transformation: From Language Gaps to Empowered Families

With HAG’s partnership, EBG shifted from generic outreach to deeply personal communication that resonates across cultures and languages.

Before HAG

• Spanish-speaking families had limited access to relevant resources.
  
  
• Community trust was fragile due to linguistic and cultural disconnects.
  
  
• Important health information was often misunderstood or missed altogether.
  
  

After HAG

• Spanish-speaking parents received clear, compassionate, and culturally grounded tools to support their journeys.
  
  
• Families felt seen, heard, and valued, which improved participation and follow-through.
  
  
• Providers reported stronger communication, lower dropout rates, and higher engagement with Spanish-speaking clients.
  
  

Impact Summary

The work with Every Baby Guilford was not just about translating words. It was about transforming trust, one tool at a time.

Through our partnership, EBG was able to:

• Create bilingual resources that reflect lived experiences
• Improve understanding around complex topics like trauma, doulas, and planning for birth
• Help Spanish-speaking families navigate the maternal care system with confidence
• Deepen cultural competency and reduce dropout from care