Team James! (Formerly Team The Copithorne Family)

Our Team

The Copithorne Family is part of the movement to create positive change for moms and babies everywhere, especially those most at risk. 

With preterm birth and maternal death rates continuing to rise, we’re committed to raising funds so that every family gets the best possible start. And you can help us. 

Please visit our fundraising page to make a donation. Together we’ll be part of a movement to make America a more equitable place and ensure that every mom and baby is healthy.

Our Story

On May 5, 2021 I, Crystal Haynes Copithorne, thought she was going to die and my baby along with me. 

Blood was everywhere and the paramedics carrying me out of my home, 27 weeks pregnant, were not comforting me -- they were asking if I was from this country and if the man standing in the road, watching the ambulance take me to the hospital was my employer. I explained I was from Springfield, MA (my whole family was). Had been on television in Boston for more than a decade. I owned that home. That man, scared out of his mind was my husband. 

I wish I could say that was the only instance of racism I experienced that day -- one of the scariest of my life -- but it wasn't. A nurse administering the drugs that would strengthen my son's lungs if they had to deliver referred to an anti-nausea treatment as ghetto and said, "You know all about that, right?" When I didn't answer, she said it again. I asked she leave my service. 

I was admitted to the hospital for nearly 50 days and everyday I fought for my right to be treated fairly under care and for my son to have the best chance to live and thrive. 

I was prepared to fight for my son's life with my body. I wasn't prepared to fight for myself to be seen as a human being.

We were lucky. We had a happy ending. James was born at 35 weeks, and while getting him healthy after a month in the NICU, an airway defect, severe asthma and food allergies was an enormous challenge, he's happy and meeting or exceeding all his benchmarks. So many other families like mine don't have that outcome. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than their white counterparts and racism in their treatment spaces has been identified as significant factor in that statistic.

Let's work to change these outcomes. Let's make is a safer country to have and love our babies. Join us.