Pregnancy Pals also offer Birth Buddy support. Click here for more information.
We aim to help you to make friends with other parents in your local area. We can do this by putting you in touch with local parents and introducing you to groups and activities that are going on locally. Your Pregnancy Pal can then move on to supporting another family.
Pregnancy Pals aren’t ‘friends’ on social media, like Facebook and they don’t give out their personal contact details.
Visit our events page for upcoming social events being organised, where you may have the opportunity to meet up with your Pregnancy Pal again.
A Pregnancy Pal has first-hand experience of the realities of being a parent. They are good listeners and we have strict rules about keeping things confidential. We take great care in the way we recruit Pregnancy Pals including references and enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal record checks.
We give all our Pregnancy Pals excellent training which provides them up to date and reliable information. They are supervised by our experienced team including a fully qualified antenatal teacher.
A Pregnancy Pal usually visits on a weekly or fortnightly basis for an hour or two. You can choose what you would like to do together and the timing is agreed between you.
The visits usually take place in the privacy of your home but you can meet at a local café if you prefer.
A Pregnancy Pal may accompany you to an appointment or when going along to a local group for the first time or even just going to the shops together.
This is as much for dads as it is for mums. We are always looking for new ways to make sure dads feel welcome and included.
We offer FREE workshops for expectant dads who live in Basildon, Canvey Island and Thurrock.
Check out our events page for the next workshops in your area.
You can finish the visits at any time you choose. However, the visits usually stop at around 3 months after the birth, but sometimes it can be a bit longer.
No one will know that you have a Pregnancy Pal unless you tell them or you give us your permission to let someone know.
We usually ask if it is ok to let your midwife and health visitor know but would only do so if you agree.