A Business Built On Nurturing | Mothers & Co. delivers maternal support
The fairy tale is this: When a woman has a baby, her natural instincts will kick in and everything from childbirth to breastfeeding will be a beautiful, natural and deeply satisfying experience.
The reality, any seasoned mom will tell you, is substantially less glamorous.
Jeanette Mesite Frem, owner and co-founder of Mothers & Co. in West Boylston, has been working for years to build the kind of business that can have a positive impact on the life of a mother in all of her forms — from pregnant information-seeker to seasoned parent.
What most women find there is a little bit of therapy — in the form of like-minded peers and mentors who are willing to extend a little kindness.
“People can show up here and cry on the couch and be completely supported,” Frem said.
Multitasking
The business houses a retail store, a yoga studio and a heated pool for prenatal and Mommy & Me swim instruction and is reminiscent of someone’s well-decorated, comfortable and inviting home. Known for their comprehensive childbirth classes that encourage women to prepare for a natural delivery, Frem and her co-workers are networkers of the highest order. Well connected to service providers of all kinds, Frem takes her role seriously.
“When I was teaching [childbirth classes] in the hospital setting, I didn’t have the resources I needed,” she said. Getting together with a handful of other childbirth educators and homebirth midwives, the group of about six women founded Mothers & Co. in 2004.
“We got frustrated enough to get together and do it on our own,” Frem said.
Prior to landing at the Worcester Street location in 2009, Mothers & Co. was housed in various rooms at Cyprian Keyes Golf Club, where Frem’s husband David functions as general manager. “I wanted to find something more comfy and homey,” she said, though grateful for the launching pad space. When Frem stumbled upon the current location, she was delighted to find that the half-vacant office building was home to a number of wellness-oriented professionals — from an acupuncturist to a chiropractor and everything in between.
“It’s awesome that women think of this place as their second home,” she said. “We have people that are here four times a week. This is their living room.”
Mothers & Co., in essence, is a place where women can be quickly and lovingly connected to whatever it is that they need. Whether they are looking to buy a sling or some new cloth diapers, find support and assistance with regard to breastfeeding, weigh their new baby on a hospital-grade scale or register for a toddler CPR course, it’s all right there. And that’s only the beginning. There are fitness classes, maternity clothing available on consignment and childbirth preparation workshops. The list goes on, and new offerings are constantly being added.
The bread and butter of the business, however, is its array of playgroups. For single moms, working moms, and even mothers of multiples, it is within these circles that many women start to reconnect with their peers once the dust has settled from their baby’s birth.
“Whatever our clients want or feel they need, we’ll find a way to get it to them.”
With a strong background in health education and a public health degree from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, Frem only hopes that she can expand in the coming years to make Mothers & Co.’s unique brand of support more accessible to a growing audience.
“It’s one thing to drive 45 minutes for a great childbirth workshop when you’re pregnant,” she said, adding that people come from all over Massachusetts for classes. “It’s another thing to make that trip with an infant.”
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