SUBURBAN AREA — Jamie Davis Smith Johner formed a new support group comprised of friends who each have a child with a disability or complex medical needs. The group was created after her daughter Chaya was born with disabilities and complex medical needs.

Johner's daughter spent several weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit following her birth. During her daughter's NICU stay, Johner pumped breast milk continuously around the clock and slept on fold-out chairs made of vinyl at the hospital. She often missed meals while staying at the hospital.

Before her daughter's birth, Johner had joined online groups for women who were due around the same time when she found out she was pregnant. She signed up for prenatal yoga classes and enrolled in a natural birth class, where she arranged decaf coffee dates with other moms-to-be. She offered rides to other pregnant women to look at cribs and bouncers at suburban big-box stores.

The group of pregnant women underwent the glucose test together and settled on baby names during pregnancy. Johner and several pregnant women vowed to cook meals for one another after delivery and to meet at least twice a week during maternity leave. Someone suggested creating a babysitting co-op once their newborns were a few months old, and Johner agreed.

Johner named her daughter Chaya, which means "life" in Hebrew. Her daughter was discharged from the hospital with medical monitors and oxygen tanks.

After Chaya's birth, Johner's original mom support group continued meeting as planned without contacting her. She discovered that members of her original support group did not contact her because they did not want to bother her and assumed she needed space. Following this experience, Johner formed the new support group for parents facing similar challenges with children who have disabilities or complex medical needs.