20 | MAY 20 • 2021 

D

etroit Dad Justin Jacobs has been 
a fan of Jbaby since first taking 
the prenatal class with his wife.
“Jbaby’s prenatal class really helped me 
become more confident in my role and 
understand how I could best support my 
wife during her final trimester, during 
the birth and how to continue to be the 
best husband and father I could,
” he says. 
“Without the class, I would have been com-
pletely unprepared.
” 
Jacobs went on to describe how Jfamily 
programs have helped them stay in touch 
with families going through the same steps 
in their kids’ lives as theirs. The Facebook 
groups and text threads become a support 
group. 
“
As an interfaith family, it’s been so help-
ful for my wife in understanding some of 
the basic Jewish principles of how we are 
raising our children and making our house 
feel like a Jewish home,
” Jacobs says. “I am 
so thankful and appreciative of the Jbaby 
and Jfamily programs. I’ve even become 
an ambassador, as I don’t think any couple 
should go into a birth without the tools they 
provide.
”
This kind of praise motivates Jbaby 
Detroit Director Stephanie Erez to work 
even harder. 
“There’s so much more to be done, and 

we hope with every new season we can do 
even more to support the community,
” she 
says.
“The beauty of Jbaby is that it goes so 
deep,
” Erez says. “I like to think of it like a 
hug around people. That’s what we want 
people to feel, that they’re part of the club 
and part of the family.
”

Housed under the umbrella of the JCC of 
Metro Detroit’s Jfamily, Jbaby has become 
a trusted, innovative one-stop destination 
to help expectant and new parents make 
connections and friendships and engage in 
Jewish life. 
It’s a go-to for its popular prenatal series, 
new baby care programs, postpartum 
support groups, parenting education work-
shops, Daddy Boot Camp, bubbie and zay-
die groups, and more.
“Over the years leading up to the pan-

demic, the connections have grown so 
strong that individual cohorts have taken 
on communities in and of themselves,
” says 
Erez.
“It’s adorable if you look back — they 
met in their prenatal class and now they’re 
on to potty training and going from two 
naps to one nap. Groups of families become 
their own little bubbles that they progress 
through together. You can see the progres-
sion of what they’ve done over the past two 
years, and they’ve been able to do it togeth-
er. That is the connection Jbaby strives to 
create for everyone.
”
Rachael Gerstein, who has been in a 
Jbaby cohort since attending a prenatal 
class, feels that connection. “This group has 
become a sounding board for any questions 
or concerns, activities and projects, recipes 
— or just to brag about our little ones’ new-
est achievements and milestones.
”

GOING VIRTUAL
In the early days of the COVID pandemic, 
Erez and her team of staffers and volunteers 
— including Jbaby ambassadors and trained 
volunteer facilitators — stepped up without 
missing a beat.
“We’ve adapted, and so much positive 
has come out of it,
” Erez says. “
All of our 
programs are stronger because of it. We 

Jbaby provides 
advice, support, 
comradeship.

A
 
‘Hug’
for
New 
Parents

continued on page 22

LYNNE KONSTANTIN 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

“WITHOUT THE 
CLASS, I WOULD HAVE 
BEEN COMPLETELY 
UNPREPARED.”

— FIRST-TIME FATHER JUSTIN JACOBS

Jbaby Aden Achtman 
makes a guest appearance 
during a Daddy Boot Camp 
session run by Jbaby Dad 
Coach Ned Specktor.

