Pathways 2 Prevention
Where Grief, Maternal Health, and Prevention Meet: A Conversation with Mai Waller
57 min
Guest: Mai Waller
Listen on SpotifySummary
This episode of Pathways 2 Prevention features a conversation with Mai Waller, founder and executive director of the Mace Anthony Williamson Foundation and leader of The Doula Project Resource. She discusses how her personal experience with loss led her to create resources for families navigating pregnancy and infant loss. The discussion explores how community-based doulas, grief-informed care, and culturally grounded support contribute to substance use prevention, mental health promotion, and family strengthening.
Key takeaways
- Prevention extends beyond traditional approaches to include support for families during and after pregnancy, even in moments like a 3 a.m. parental concern.
- Grief, trauma, racism, and isolation can increase the risk for substance use and mental health challenges.
- Culturally grounded, community-based doulas play a vital role in reducing maternal and infant health inequities.
- Effective collaboration with leaders who have lived experience is crucial for successful prevention efforts.
- Prevention coalitions and maternal health advocates can work together to address these interconnected issues.
Show notes
When we talk about prevention, most people think about youth programs, policy change, or school-based education. But prevention also starts in a hospital room, in a living room at 3 a.m. when a parent wonders, “Is this normal?”, and in the quiet after pregnancy or infant loss when families are left to figure out what comes next, often alone.
In this episode of Pathways 2 Prevention, Dave sits down with Mai (Maiye) Waller, founder and executive director of the Mace Anthony Williamson Foundation and leader of The Doula Project Resource. Out of the preventable loss of her son, Mace Anthony, Mai chose to become the resource she always wished existed for other families.
Together, they explore how community-based doulas, grief-informed care, and culturally grounded support before, during, and after pregnancy are powerful forms of substance use prevention, mental health promotion, and family strengthening.
In this episode, we cover:
Mai’s journey from grieving mom to founder and executive director of a national nonprofit
What a doula really is (and is not)
How The Doula Project supports families before, during, and long after birth
Why a 3 a.m. “Is this normal?” text is prevention work
How grief, trauma, racism, and isolation increase risk for substance use and mental health challenges
The role of culturally grounded, community-based doulas in reducing maternal and infant health inequities
What “good collaboration” with lived experience leaders should actually look like
Concrete ways prevention coalitions and maternal health advocates can lock arms in the next 2 to 3 years
Who this episode is for:
Prevention coalition members and state leaders
Maternal and child health practitioners
Doulas, nurses, social workers, and peer specialists
Anyone who has experienced pregnancy or infant loss or walks alongside those who have
Connect with The Mace Anthony Williamson Foundation:
Website: https://www.themawfoundation.org/
National Prevention Summit 2026
Drug Free America Foundation Links:
If this conversation resonates, share it with a colleague in prevention, maternal health, or public health, and invite a doula to your next coalition meeting.
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