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Heartbeat: Midwives set up sessions for young parents

March 28, 2020

Sessions for young parents to be and new mums and dads have been set up by a team of midwives.

Our organisation has partnered with Acacia, a charity which offers mental health support to families and Birmingham City Council to deliver the sessions.

New mum Hayley Gordon aged 17, whose baby Alicia is 12 weeks old, welcomed the idea. Speaking at the launch event, she said: “It’s nice to meet other mums and dads and have people to talk to about our babies. They are all the same age so we have things in common and everyone is supportive too. It is also a good way to build up our confidence.”

Hayley was invited to the launch by her midwife, Angela Arnold who first thought of the idea. Angela, who specifically cares for young parents, said:

“I think there’s a need for young parents to have somewhere safe and non-judgemental for them to go whilst pregnant and also after the birth. After talking to young mums, I found that many felt they weren’t confident in going along to their local children’s centres because of their age. That’s when I thought about setting something up that would be beneficial for them.”

The Young Parents Maternity Service already has links with Acacia and Birmingham City Council and, after liaising with them this group for young parents was set up. Speaking about the partnership Angela remarked: “We will cover various subjects like infant feeding, labour, birth and sleep safety. Acacia will provide support around mental health, whilst Birmingham City Council’s young parent advisor will provide information around education, as well as help with benefits. There is also support available with regards to sexual health testing and contraception.”

Katie Mcleod-Peterson, Young Parents Project Group Facilitator, at Acacia added: “We received funding to put into running groups for young parents and we thought this was the perfect project. Having a place to socialise and meet like-minded parents is also important and takes away the risk of social isolation.”