Recently, a member of our Community Services Committee (CSC) attended a group meeting run by "My Birth Support CIC” to find out more about its work with new mothers in the local area.
CSC member Maxine Blades was happy to accept an invite from Aileen White, who runs the group, to attend the meeting and learn more about some of the CIC's activities. Their "Mums Matter" breakfasts currently meet at Thanington Resource Centre and Maxine was happy to take along some much-appreciated biscuits with her when she went!
My Birth Support CIC promotes and supports the mental health and emotional wellbeing of pregnant people, parents and families (in the broadest sense of the term) and educate others to do the same. Aileen has been offering families birth and parenting support for the past 9 years since overcoming tokophobia (fear of childbirth) and becoming a parent herself.
Currently, Aileen and her team are meeting the identified need for affordable, local mental health and emotional wellbeing support for new mothers. The mums can come along to the group sessions with their little ones or while their children are at school. The sessions are all about caring for the mums, so they can in turn look after their children.
During the meeting that Maxine attended the mums were being offered a pamper session, with tips on skin care and well-being.
After attending the meeting Maxine discussed what she had learnt with other CSC members, who agreed to a donation of £300 to help towards the cost of room hire in Thanington.
On being told of the donation, Aileen wrote to us to us to say: "Thank you so much for your generous donation, on behalf of My Birth Support CIC and the families who access our service. We are delighted to accept...We are so encouraged that Rotary recognises the vital importance of maternal health too."
You can find out more about My Birth Support CIC from their website, here.
Picture: Mums being ‘pampered’ at the My Birth Support well-being session. Picture credit: Aileen White (reproduced with permission).
With thanks to Maxine Blades for help with this article.
