Having a baby should be an exciting journey but for some parents, it doesn't always feel that way...
Pregnancy can be a challenging time. Parents might feel unsupported or isolated from friends and family, have feelings of loneliness or anxiety, other worries such as relationship, financial or housing issues, or just feel like they're not prepared to become a parent.
It’s completely normal to have some worries during this time. But if those feelings start to feel overwhelming, it could be a sign that you need some extra support—and that’s okay.
Peer support can make all the difference. It offers a unique and invaluable contribution to achieving healthier pregnancies, better births and happier babies. It can build parents' confidence, help nip early difficulties in the bud and reduce pressure on maternity and early years services.
Support from carefully recruited peer supporters through pregnancy, birth and beyond has been proven to have clear benefits to the wellbeing of mothers, fathers, partners and babies.
Every mother and father is different and has different needs. Some have experienced depression or have suffered abuse in the past; others may need support as they have had a traumatic birth or not experienced good parenting themselves or are without a supportive partner."
Peer Supporter
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Benefits for parents:
- ✔ Mothers, fathers and partners build their confidence, feel supported, prepare for changes ahead, and feel less stressed
- ✔ Improved wellbeing of parents means healthier pregnancies, less complicated births and happier babies
- ✔ Parents get to know what services are available to them and volunteers help them to benefit from them
Evidence from evaluations (Parents 1st Essex services):
- ✔ 78% of parents show a positive change
- ✔ When comparing answers during pregnancy with those at three months after the birth there are no negative changes and there are positive changes for 93% (highly statistically significant)
- ✔ 70% had improved access to local services and 67% had improved communication with professionals involved in their care (highly statistically significant)
Benefits for volunteers:
Parents are not the only ones to benefit; volunteers frequently describe their volunteering experience as 'life changing'.
Volunteers make new friends, improve their confidence, develop new skills and gain pathways to employment.
Evidence shows that volunteers experience:
- ✔ Satisfaction from contributing to the wellbeing of others
- ✔ Increased awareness of local community issues and available services
- ✔ Increased self-confidence, self-esteem and a sense of achievement
Evidence from evaluations (Parents 1st Essex services) also shows that volunteers gain:
- ✔ Personal development opportunities
- ✔ Improved knowledge of health and parenting that benefits their own families
- ✔ Work experience
- ✔ A mutually supportive group learning experience
- ✔ Gateways into new training opportunities, qualifications and employment