As her newborn son slept in a baby carrier while curled up in a blanket, Jasmine Williams-Lambert said she decided Friday that she was ready for some sunlight and conversation after giving birth a week ago to her third child, Simeon.  With her first two kids, the 31-year-old South Shore resident said their home births went smoothly, joking that she “literally popped them out in my kitchen and got to go to bed.” Simeon, however, was born non-vigorous — having trouble breathing — and had to be rushed to the emergency room. Thankfully, Simeon is now stable and breathing well, she said.  “Now I can see the light, and I’m going outside,” Williams-Lambert said. “This is gorgeous.” Newborn Simeon Williams-Lambert is held by his father, Jules Williams-Lambert, while his mother, Jasmine Williams-Lambert, left, uses the photo booth inside Barb the Breast Express, a bus on a nationwide tour to give mothers access to resources on nursing. The bus was parked outside the WIC Clinic Greater Lawn location in Chicago on Oct. 11, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune) When she saw an ad for “Barb the Breast Express” on social media, she said it seemed like a good place to commiserate with fellow moms and ask questions about breastfeeding, specifically nipple shields.  The renovated school bus that’s painted blue and decorated with various paintings of its namesake was parked outside the WIC Greater Lawn Health Center on the Southwest Side Friday morning. It catered to about 50 parents, many living in underserved communities, looking for resources on maternal health — everything from lactation consultants to applesauce. Chicago was a stop on the “Feel Better, Feed Better Tour,” a cross-country trek run by Pumpspotting, a group that supports breastfeeding moms. It’ll also stop at the Chicago Prego Expo on Sunday.  When stepping inside the bus, at the front, there’s a “love letter well” where moms can write and take love letters from one another. There’s also various maternity products to browse and potentially access through insurance, including breast pumps and diapers, and a space in the back to sit and talk.  “Moms come on and you can see the weight of what they’re carrying. They have bags under their eyes. They’re literally carrying heavy diaper bags and a baby,” said Amy VanHaren, CEO and founder of Pumpspotting. “And they spend 30 minutes with us, and we hold their babies, and they sit here, and they leave lighter. … The magic happens in just sitting with a mom.”  VanHaren founded the organization about 10 years ago after struggling to find a community of women after giving birth to her son, Max. She said she traveled every month from Maine to California to meet clients for the marketing agency she owned, and had to ship breast milk and pump in every bathroom she could find. On her mind for nearly a year was “nursing or pumping, or thinking about nursing and pumping.”  “I just really felt so isolated, so disconnected and because my background was in bringing people together through digital formats … and I thought, what if we build a space that’s nourishing and inviting and really just shares that mom to mom information and support,” she said.  After talking to volunteers and taking pictures outside the bus, Williams-Lambert left with a bag of lactation-friendly clothing — three shirts and a hoodie. Living in South Shore, she said there’s generally less opportunities for events like the bus. In Chicago, recent hospital closings have rendered entire parts of the city “birth deserts,” leaving dismal conditions for Black maternal health care.  Pumpspotting employee Brittany Shoughi, center, talks to fellow employees outside Pumpspotting’s bus, "Barb the Breast Express," as part of their nationwide tour to give mothers resources on nursing. The bus was at the WIC Clinic Greater Lawn location in Chicago on Oct. 11, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)Marie Arguello and son Charlie, 3, walk inside Pumpspotting’s bus, "Barb the Breast Express," as part of their nationwide tour to give mothers access to resources on nursing, Oct. 11, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)Soap and supplements are displayed inside Pumpspotting’s bus, "Barb the Breast Express," as part of their nationwide tour to give mothers access to resources on nursing and pumping outside the WIC Clinic Greater Lawn location in Chicago on Oct. 11, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)Jasmine Williams-Lambert, center, and her husband Jules Williams-Lambert, left, take a photo of themselves with their week-old baby, Simeon, at the photo booth inside Pumpspotting’s bus, "Barb the Breast Express," on Oct. 11, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)Ana Roman, center, holds son Andres Hernandez, 10 months, as she talks to CEO and founder of Pumpspotting, Amy VanHaren, left, inside Pumpspotting’s bus on Oct. 11, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)Janet Getz and son Joseluis De La Torre, 1, exit Pumpspotting’s bus parked at the WIC Clinic Greater Lawn location in Chicago on Oct. 11, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)Annie Chacko, a regional nutrition coordinator with WIC and CDPH, center, waves at Lizzett Marquez and her son Aaron Rodriguez, 1, outside Pumpspotting’s bus, Barb the Breast Express, outside the WIC Clinic Greater Lawn location in Chicago on Oct. 11, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)Show Caption1 of 7Pumpspotting employee Brittany Shoughi, center, talks to fellow employees outside Pumpspotting’s bus, "Barb the Breast Express," as part of their nationwide tour to give mothers resources on nursing. The bus was at the WIC Clinic Greater Lawn location in Chicago on Oct. 11, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)Expand The Chicago Department of Public Health found in a 2019 study that Black women have a mortality rate that’s almost six times higher than white women, and Latina women have a rate that is twice as high. By and large, women living in communities with high economic hardship have the highest pregnancy-associated mortality rates, the study also found.  “If you took a Black mom and a white mom who were both next door neighbors, the same profession, the same doctor, the same medical system they were a part of, they would have dramatically different outcomes,” said Michael Cabonargi, regional director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The department and CDPH partnered with Pumpspotting for the Friday event to share local resources, including Family Connects Chicago, a free program where a nurse visits parents with newborns to offer support and guidance, including about breastfeeding.  Cabonargi said the department hopes to improve poor outcomes through supporting peer services — parents sharing stories with one another, both positive and negative — helping women access health care early in their pregnancy and championing the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, 1-833-TLC-MAMA.  “When it comes to mental health, one of the first thresholds is getting past the stigma of mental health and acknowledging you’re in a mental health crisis and need help,” he said. “Once you made it through, you need a place to call, and that’s why we set up the hotline.”  Williams-Lambert said she felt particularly isolated after the birth of her first child, which was during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her recommendation to other moms is to slow down, saying it’s OK to take a moment for water or a snack before running back to the baby.  “It’s a joke that I told my friends, but I was ready to fight all my mom friends. Like no one told me the truth — this sucks. I had to apologize to (my husband) for things I was saying. And then the second one … having more support, it’s been better.”  [email protected]