April 15, 2025
How Moms Can Mobilize Their Village: Podcast Episode #286
Kristin Revere and Kimberly Jolasun, CEO of Villie, discuss how moms can mobilize their village to get support in the early days of motherhood. They also chatted about the Villie State of the Village report where they learned that moms need help asking for help.
Hello, hello! This is Kristin Revere with Ask the Doulas, and I am so excited to chat with Kimberly Jolasun. Kim is the founder of Villie. She is also the CEO. Villie’s mission is to support moms through all the milestones of pregnancy, birth, and beyond. Villie is inspired by Kim’s own West African culture. When a woman has a baby there, the entire family surrounds her and showers her with support. What support means to every mom is different. That’s why Villie has been created to connect with your loved ones, starting out with their baby sites and gender reveal game, and brings along your entire community to get the support that is so needed during this journey to motherhood, no matter if it’s baby one or baby five. So welcome, Kimberly!
Thank you! So happy to be here.
I love your story about the support that is missing. But for our listeners who haven’t been on your site, can you fill us in more about Villie?
Yes, absolutely. So Villie is a platform where expecting and new moms can get more support from their loved ones. We try to keep the support as tangible as possible. So moms can raise money. She can get more gifts from her baby registry. Pretty soon, villagers will be able to sign up to help with tasks after the baby arrives. It’s a way to support moms but also to celebrate, and I think that’s one thing that’s missing, just the celebration piece, outside of just the baby shower, right? And that’s what we try to bring more of.
Yes, I agree. And certainly, I feel like technology has made it easier to connect, but it also isolates us. We don’t gather as much in person. We often move away from friends and family for careers. So I love that it’s not only a way to access resources and connect but a way to celebrate this journey to motherhood.
Absolutely. And it’s really as families are moving further away from each other. I have family all over the world, the majority of my family actually still being back in Ghana, and my husband’s is in Nigeria. So it’s really important that there is that line of communication and celebration regardless of where family is in the world.
So as far as family support, you mentioned creating registries and having tasks that friends and family can do. There aren’t funds to hire, say, a postpartum doula or a housekeeper or other paid services. I feel like your structure takes off some of that pressure from moms not wanting to outright ask for support but knowing that they need it, so having options for gifts where it’s not just holding the baby or bringing presents for the baby, that the mom is also getting the help and attention that is needed after giving birth.
Yes. And one of the things that my co-founder, Melissa, and I talk about all the time is how to put more of the onus on the villagers to support. So before Mom even has to ask, how can we help villagers understand how to be helpful outside of just coming and holding the baby, right? So we have a lot of content and we try to educate the villagers, who are also part of the platform, on things like grandma, how to change a diaper in 2025, right? Diapers have changed in the last 30 years since they’ve had to change one. How to do that. How to spot postpartum depression in dads and get them support. If you’re the rich auntie, that’s great. Here are top things that moms need. How to also train the villagers, I think is really important, especially for those moms who might be the first in their friend group or their family to be expecting. How can we get them to step up without mom always having to ask? Because honestly, if you’re a first time mom, sometimes you don’t even know what to ask for, right? You just want them to step up and also help.
Yeah, even creating that registry can be daunting because you don’t know and there are so many different products. It’s overwhelming. And I do agree with your statement of helping friends and family members because things change. I mean, there’s so much tech and so many new gadgets that grandparents and aunts and other relatives, or friends who’ve never had kids, won’t really know how to support. But anything from meal delivery services to a fund for a postpartum doula or other household services can be even more beneficial than trying to figure out the best new gadget to purchase for a shower.
Absolutely. And one of the things that we like to do is keep our fingers on the pulse of what moms think and know that they need and communicating that to the broader ecosystem, not just to our friends and family, but to the brands that are trying to target her and to the organizations that are trying to also support her and just being clear on those needs. It’s more than gadgets. Those are nice. Having the newest, coolest stroller that rocks itself, all that is really cool and very nice to see all over Instagram, but sometimes they want space; sometimes they want boundaries; sometimes they just want someone to come over and do laundry. It’s so different across the board.
And sometimes it’s just someone to talk to. And I could have certainly used Villie. My friends had kids earlier than I did, so I felt like I didn’t know how to support them, other than bringing presents for baby, and I thought that they needed space and not my actual attention or company. And so I learned so much after having kids of my own. Our listeners who have friends or family who are not sure how to support – it’s nice to be able to direct them to Villie and get videos, as you mentioned, and other resources. So I can’t wait to dive into your State of the Village report. What are moms asking for?
Yes, this report was awesome because we were able to ask 700 moms that are part of the Villie ecosystem – if you could get one thing from your loved ones or your village, what would it be? It’s a simple question that I think many of them did not think about. A few of my favorites were, yeah, some moms actually do want space and boundaries and time to be a new family, right? And if you do look at the report, we actually do pull in some quotes directly from the moms, just exactly what they want. Understand that they want time alone with the baby. Respect their boundaries of them and their spouse as they navigate a new space. I think that one is really interesting. My second favorite is because I didn’t think of this until I had my second: siblings. I was in the hospital room getting ready to have my second, and half the time, I’m thinking about my toddler. It was also around Christmas. So thinking about supporting mom, but also if this new baby has siblings, the child is also going through a huge change. How can we support the mom and also support the other children? So take care of the baby first. Take care of the toddler so that they don’t feel jealous about the new sibling. Help out with the toddler while the mom heals and bonds with the new baby. And getting the other kids just simply out of the house, right? Sometimes we can’t do it all, and just really being that support for the older siblings is something that you don’t really think about with the first one because you’re just trying to survive the first one. The second one and the third and the fourth – they all need support as well!
They do! I remember one of my friends gifted me with time. There was a school carnival, and she took my toddler to the carnival with her daughter. And I had a couple of hours just to focus on my newborn and bonding. My daughter had a blast, and so it was such a thoughtful thing to do and something that I would have never thought to ask for.
Exactly, and I think that’s really important, and we try to educate villagers on that, as well. It’s a good one.
I know in Villie, you pride yourselves on being a channel to reach moms. And I feel like with all of these moms groups and advice from friends and family, it’s hard to know the evidence-based information, and everyone’s got their own theories or the way they fed their baby is the right way, for example, sleep tips, and so on. How do you help moms find the best information?
We provide some information, but we generally send moms to other resources that provide that. We really want to focus on the information that is passed on by family and culture. I think that’s one thing that being West African and growing up there – it’s really important. Our traditions and little things my mom did, how she specifically bathed and massaged the baby how her mother taught her and my great-grandmother taught her – I think those are the things that we at Villie want to capture. There are so many great resources all across the internet that have science backed information, and we are quick to send moms the resources that they need, but we really want to focus on the traditions and the celebrations and that kind of content just because that’s what we feel is missing and also very important.
It definitely is. And you really stress the need for social support. As you said, that village. So how do you define social support at Villie?
Social support – we do make it clear that the village is whoever the mom deems a villager. So that might not be a relative. It might be a neighbor. It could be whoever she deems in the village of support. What’s great is villagers – because we collect the data. When villagers sign up to support a mom, we ask, what’s your relation to mom? Who are you to her? How do you identify? And we found that, yes, there’s grandmas and sisters and all of that. But those folks, they can text mom. This platform is really great for getting the social support of cousins, of coworkers, folks who love and support you but may not be in that first degree circle. So we get social support from there as well to support mom. The more they hear from her and the updates and how she’s doing and how the baby is doing – when she does ask for help, it doesn’t feel like it’s out of the blue. It doesn’t feel awkward. They’re along for the ride, as well, so that’s the kind of social support. There are so many studies that show that the more supported a mom feels during her pregnancy, the better her postpartum outcomes. They’re tied together.
And I am all about connection. Everything from my doula agency to this podcast in connecting our listeners with amazing listeners like Villie. You also talked about how you curate and connect with brands. Can you talk a little bit more about that connection and how brands then are able to outreach to your village?
Yes. One of the things that we got really good at doing early on is getting moms early in pregnancy. We typically get moms because of our gender reveal game and gender reveal content. We get moms in that first or second trimester when the only people who typically know you’re pregnant at that time is you, your spouse, and the OB-GYN. That’s really good for brands, especially emerging brands, to be able to get in front of moms as early as possible because we know in this industry, there’s the incumbents who have been around since my grandmother and my mother. So if you’re an emerging brand, getting in front of these moms is just a very strategic move. So we work with brands who we align with in terms of branding and having great products that we as the Villie team love, and we present them to our moms, especially as they’re building those baby registries, which is a key time for those purchases. So that’s how we work with brands, and we work with brands across the board. We are a small team, so we are very particular. We make sure we work with one brand in each category, and we’re going to expand this year, but we work with them.
Yeah, I love the curation. So tell us more about the contributions to the fund that members of each village – as you mentioned, it’s not just family, but friends and colleagues, even, who would be able to provide financial assistance.
The funds and the registries and the gift cards – all of that can be curated by the mom. Some moms do specifically ask, like, I do not need donations. Please just bring diapers. Or please just give me prayers and love and support. Some moms say, we’re starting the diaper fund. This is baby number three. We don’t need the strollers and the car seats. We have that. So here is a fund to help us start a savings account for the little one. All of that can be curated by the mom on her baby page to build the support that she needs. But it is a nice place for villagers to support after the baby arrives. We keep moms until just about after the first place, and as a villager, especially if you don’t have kids, you’re like, what are one-year-olds into nowadays? Is it Bluey? Is it Miss Rachel? What is it? So we help kind of do all of that and curate that so it’s easier for the villagers to also support.
That makes sense, and that first birthday is a big deal. So members of the village are coming to that birthday party, and as you mentioned, it can be overwhelming to figure out what would be helpful, not only after baby arrives, but that big milestone birthday.
And the milestones in between, right? So we stress to moms, post the update. Let villagers know that the first tooth came in. No, you’re not bothering them, we promise, and if you are, there’s a mute button for villagers. We make it all discreet. But let them know about the little inchstones and milestones on the way so they can also feel like they’re part of your village. That’s some of the things that we encourage moms to do, as well.
Some people are shying away from Facebook and social media now and are really trying to protect their baby or other children. So I think this is a great way to share information with that trusted village, and milestones, as you mentioned, like the first tooth or the first step. Then you don’t have to feel like you’re leaving out members of your village just because you decided not to be on Facebook, for example.
Absolutely. And we actually have a feature where moms can add a passcode to her baby page. None of the baby pages are Google-able. I can’t Google your name and have your baby page or your Villie pop up. All of that is private. And to add extra privacy, moms can opt in to upgrade her baby page to even include a passcode so they would have to reach out to mom, get the passcode that she can change at any time – and this is so important, because how many times have we scrolled through Instagram and seen a mom wanting to share a picture of her baby, but she puts an emoji over the face so that the baby can still maintain their privacy? We have a subset of moms whose babies are in the NICU, for example, and those images are private and sensitive, but you still want to share those images with your closest circle. So your baby page and your Villie allows you to do that for your selected close circle.
I love that it’s so customized! I feel like a lot of other sites are general in nature, and it really allows the unique needs of every family to be able to be served. And also the needs of the village, no matter if the village is all local or around the world, as your village is in Villie.
And we are every day asking moms, what else can we do to make this space better for you? They are very vocal, which I appreciate!
Information is so important! So what else did you learn from the report?
So a few things that we found is that some moms do think that their villagers are perfect. I know there’s a sentiment online of where’s the village when I need them. I don’t have a village; no one’s helping me. And a lot of that is true. But we did find some moms who were like, I don’t know what to ask for. They already do so much. My mother-in-law is coming when the baby is born; I’m so excited. They’re showering me with love; I’m so blessed. That was good to see, especially with what seems like gloom and doom around maternal mortality and the all the crises and the surgeon general putting a state of emergency report for parents. Amongst all that doom and gloom, I think it was really amazing to see that some of these villagers are showing up and showing out, and we see that in our data. We have villages that have 200 villagers from all over the world. So I think that was a great gem, a diamond in the rough that we love to see. And moms look to their village for advice and guidance. Moms say they want to hear the motherhood secrets. They want the help. They’re looking for the help. We saw that across the board, as well.
So beautiful. And some people have a hard time asking for help, so it’s nice when you have a village that is in tune with your needs. Sometimes you don’t even know what you need. As doulas, we are very instinctual, and we can do tasks without being asked in the home. Birth doulas might know a position to try or physical touch that might comfort our clients without having to be told. So I love how responsive your village is, and that’s not just a traditional baby shower. You mentioned diaper parties with people only wanting diapers or giving to a college fund. I see a lot more trends around nesting parties. I’m sure you’re seeing that in Villie. Family members and friends are doing physical tasks around the house and meal preparation and connecting with community but also helping in a way that is so different than a baby shower.
Yes. And another trend that I’m seeing and we love, and we’re going to actually focus on it for this year’s report – dads. There’s a trend of – what do they call it? Diapers and football parties. All his friends come over with diapers and wipes, watch a football game, and it’s just the dudes. All these trends, I think, are trending positive to getting not only mom support, but whoever the second parent is – getting them support as well. Another thing we’re seeing is how to throw a party for your surrogate. These families exist, and they need the same love and support. Do you throw two baby showers? I mean, I say why not? The more parties and celebrations, the better.
I had not heard of that trend, so thanks for sharing that, Kimberly!
It’s so great to be on the front, cutting edge of what’s happening in this space and seeing it happen in real time. It’s definitely good because building a business is so hard, but then how hard could it be if I’m looking at pictures of babies all day?
That is so impactful. I appreciate the work you’re doing. Any final tips for our listeners?
For the villagers listening – when folks come to me for advice on what are some creative ways I can support moms – I always try to think of ideas that are unconventional but super helpful. One of the things that I started to do for new moms in my life, I buy them space – if they have an iPhone, I buy them space for their photos in their iCloud because especially for that first baby – I think the first week of having my son, I went through a gigabyte of data just with pictures of him sleeping. Get her space on that iPhone because she’s going to need it. She’s going to have a camera roll of infinite photos. That’s an interesting, thoughtful gift. Another one is whenever I get a mom a gift card to a store, I always make sure it doesn’t have a baby section. There’s a meme that says I haven’t bought a new bra in six years, but my baby has had 16 pairs of shoes this season. I try to make sure there’s no baby things because I want the mom to take care of herself and intentionally buy things for her and to take care of herself because otherwise she will always take care of the baby first. Those are the kinds of tips and tricks that I try to spread.
So how can our listeners connect with you and also Villie?
You can find me everywhere. LinkedIn is probably best; Kimberly Jolasun. And then you can find us at Villie.com. If you look at our logo, there’s a little family in it. I tell people that so they don’t forget the second I. There’s a little family in our name. And then Villie Family across social media.
And you’re on Pinterest, which is so great for pregnancy planning and the nursery. I love that you have a presence there in addition to all the typical social media platforms.
Oh, yeah, we love Pinterest at Villie. Add us to your inspiration boards. We love to see it!
Well, thank you for sharing your report and all of your wisdom with our audience. We’ll have to have you on for your next report so we can keep up with what’s going on in 2025!
Yes, thank you! This has been an absolute pleasure!
IMPORTANT LINKS
Birth and postpartum support from Gold Coast Doulas