Please note: we do not take self-referrals. Parents must be referred via EPUT's Perinatal Mental Health Team.
N.B. the parent must give informed consent before a practitioner requests a Peer Support Link Worker to make contact. We will let you know if we have been able to make contact.
Complete the online request form
FAQs
Direct peer support will be offered to parents who reside in Essex, for specified groups agreed to be identified as requiring high priority access during the pregnancy and postnatal period for up to 1 year.
Exceptions will be made for parents in the postnatal period for over a year if working with or referred by the PMHS.
Signposting to alternative sources of peer support will be available to all parents who reside in Essex.
Referrals will be accepted from all PNMH professionals.
PLEASE NOTE: Self-referrals will not be accepted, however Parents 1st UK will accept self-referrals for their Pregnancy Pals and Birth Buddies programme that operates in North and South Essex.
Peer support can be very beneficial to parents by helping them to feel listened to and supported during this life-changing time. Parents often describe their peer supporter as “someone in my corner” who has lived experience and doesn’t judge. Peer support is informal but different to support from friends or family.
Peer support is not a replacement for support provided by professionals. However, Link Workers can explain how different services can help and how to access them.
Every parent is unique, so link workers work flexibly to suit individual circumstances.
They do not give advice but help parents to:
- Explore what type of parent-to-parent support might be useful to them and link them in with what’s available in their local area
- Take steps to keep well, feel confident, listened to, and supported
- Access and benefit from information and services available
Link Workers assist parents to access peer support during pregnancy, birth and the first year after the birth of a baby. A PMH worker can request a Link Worker to make contact with a parent at anytime during this period.
Link Workers want to particularly reach out to expectant and post birth parents who:
- Feel socially isolated
- Feel anxious or depressed
- Have suffered a trauma or loss
Initial contact is usually made by phone within a week of receiving a request. The Parent and the Link Worker will then decide next steps together. They may continue to communicate by phone, email, Zoom, text, or WhatsApp, or when possible, by arranging to meet each other face-to-face in a public place or in the parent’s home.
To enable us to provide peer support, we need to collect and use your personal information. Please read our privacy policy for more information.
Meet the team
Our friendly, well-trained, and supervised Link Workers are local parents who work alongside local maternity units. They offer personalised support during pregnancy or anytime during the first year after birth. A Link Worker can connect parents with local peer support initiatives and services operating in their area. They may also offer some peer support themselves.
Laura Crawford
Laura covers South East Essex (Southend) & South West Essex (Basildon)
Email: [email protected]
Keri Moore
Keri covers Mid Essex (Chelmsford) & South West Essex (Basildon)
Email: [email protected]
"She made me feel comfortable and was easy to talk to. She’s been so helpful in supporting me and also sending information or links to things to help with the different worries that I had"
Feedback from a parent