Thanks for stopping by. We know as parents your time is precious, so we're glad to find you here! I'm Emily, mum to a 4 year old whirlwind and founder of this ever growing community enterprise, It Takes A Village, Crystal Palace. We offer new parents meet ups for connection with other local families, a space for non judgemental breast/chest/bottle feeding support, and a peer network for better emotional and physical wellbeing through the perinatal period and beyond. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but who nurtures the new parents? After becoming a parent myself, it was a question that got me thinking… I truly believe every mum has their own story to tell. Whether it’s one you want to shout from the rooftops or WhatsApp to your bestie during the 3am feed, your experiences matter and deserve to be heard. My own early experience of motherhood was bumpy to say the least with recurrent miscarriage, postpartum sepsis and separation, prolonged breastfeeding difficulties and then a pandemic all taking a physical and mental toll. The care I received during my son’s birth and the first 12 months of his life was very much, shall we say, a mixed bag. Without a few key pieces of support from those closest to me, my journey into motherhood may have felt far more insurmountable. So how did this village come about? Well, having been a professional Actress for nearly 20 years, much of my industry came to an abrupt halt with the COVID-19 outbreak. Suddenly I was unemployed at home with a six-month-old baby, and as was the case for so many, times were tough. In order to stay positive and proactive, I decided to use some of my time at home to train online with the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers as a Breastfeeding Peer Supporter, with a view to volunteering within the NHS or postnatal health services. After completing my training at the end of 2020, I came to understand the sad reality for new mums – it was going to take quite a while for baby classes or in-person feeding support groups to start again. And postnatal wards were still all but closed to anyone other than one birth partner (sometimes, unbelievably, not even that.) Knowing how hard those early days/weeks/months can be I wondered how brand new mums were coping with just a one off phone call from a midwife or lack of a supportive social network. I felt a real pang to reach out to isolated mums during this horrible time. I took the plunge and applied to my local branch of the charity MIND for some seed funding. With the shadows of Covid still looming, my vision was to set up my own peer support group in my local park: an outdoor, socially distanced picnic rug meet up, to focus on building new mum’s breastfeeding confidence outdoors, and to help them foster new friendships. My application was successful and the rest is…well…growing up as fast as my little one seems to be! Having collaborated with other local mums on the branding/design/marketing element of the group, we launched ITAV and promoted our first in person meet up during Maternal Mental Health Awareness week in May 2021. Nearly 3 years later and we have grown into an incredible, diverse and supportive community, reaching over 500 mums (and counting!) who attend our free weekly sessions for mindfulness, connection and and feeding support from myself and our resident IBCLC and Breastfeeding Counsellor Eleanor Campbell. Since starting, I've qualified as a Mindful Breastfeeding Practitioner and alongside running this organisation, now work part time for The Breastfeeding Network supporting new mothers on my local NHS postnatal ward. In addition to our weekly meet-ups, we have a very active ‘Village’ what’s app support group where new mums who've attended the sessions can ask questions, share their thoughts or struggles with their peers. We've had perinatal specialists come and talk to the group for free on a range of topics, we run workshops as well as social events where parents can relax and talk about something other than nappies and boobs! My aim is to always keep these community meet-ups free, inclusive (we are open to all, no matter who you are or how your baby is fed), and accessible for all. And this is where YOU come in! You can now 'buy me a cuppa' or sign up for a community champion membership: all proceeds raised here will support ITAV's ongoing work to help new parents feel less alone and to improve the perinatal mental health and wellbeing of our community. Please do donate if you possibly can. The ripples of your support will be felt amongst so many families. It is much appreciated. Thank you x
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