Families who are pregnant or have recently had a baby are being invited to a new drop-in session led by midwives.
Meet the Midwives is a new support service running every Monday, 10am to 12 noon, at Leeds Baby Bank Hub in Armley. Midwives from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will be on hand to give support on a range of topics including pregnancy and maternity advice, support and advice for mums, dads and carers, support with booking in with a midwife, and baby care including infant feeding, bathing and changing nappies.
There will also be wider help offered around subjects such as housing and benefits, information about accessing food banks and baby equipment, support to stop smoking, healthy eating and lifestyle advice, mental health support, form filling and much more.
Nada Abdul-Majid, Specialist Midwife Health Equity at Leeds Teaching Hospitals said:
“We’re very excited to launch our new midwife-led drop-in service for pregnant and postnatal parents in Leeds.
“If you or your partner is pregnant, or you’ve recently had a baby, please do come along and have a chat and find out about all the support that’s available.
“We’re all friendly and non-judgmental and we’re here to listen and hopefully help families live healthy, happy lives and give their babies and children the best start in life. We’re here for mums, dads, grandparents, carers – you can just pop in for a chat and ask us anything.
“We have been talking to families locally about what they would find useful, and these new sessions have been designed by listening to their views and feedback so we really hope they will be helpful. We will organise different activities based on feedback and need – for example weaning support or antenatal education events.
“If there’s anything we can’t answer at the drop-in, we’ll try our hardest to find a solution.”
The first Meet the Midwives session is taking place on Monday 23 March and the sessions will continue running through school holidays, but not on bank holidays. Interpretation services will be available for families who need them, and the midwives will be working alongside other voluntary and public sector agencies to deliver support, such as the health visiting teams, children’s centre services, perinatal mental health team, Leeds North and West foodbank and many more.
Leeds Baby Bank supplies donated clothes, nappies, cots, prams, toys and other essentials to families who are struggling to afford them. Working with referral partners across the city, the organisation aims to make sure parents and carers can access the items they need for their children during difficult times.
More information is available on the Baby Bank website www.leedsbabybank.org
