About us
Birth Companions is a national charity supporting pregnant women, mothers and their babies through some of the most difficult and complex situations. For 30 years we have been supporting women with kindness, love and compassion.
The women and babies we work with experience huge challenges. Their lives are shaped by deep-rooted social inequities such as poverty, sexism and racism. All too often, the systems and services that should support them fail to meet their needs.
Birth Companions is dedicated to protecting the rights of women and their babies, amplifying their voices and improving their care. We focus on the impacts of the health, criminal justice, children’s social care and immigration systems; and the issues that cut across all of them, including trauma, domestic abuse and housing needs.
Our services provide specialist trauma-informed support to women and babies facing severe disadvantage during the first 1001 days. Through these services we gather insight on what’s going wrong and how to make things right.
Our Lived Experience Programme develops the power and expertise of women who have faced severe disadvantage during pregnancy and early motherhood. They work across our organisation.
Our Birth Companions Institute drives improvements in national policy and practice through research, public affairs, campaigns, consultancy, the law and the media, with a wide range of partners.
Birth Companions' values have shaped our approach from the outset. They give us a guiding light to navigate the difficult spaces we work in, and the uncertain times we live in.
We are a women's organisation, built on feminist principles, delivering woman-centred support
We are trauma-informed
We strive to be an inclusive, anti-racist organisation
We work to be an environmentally sustainable organisation
We are on a journey; we will continue to learn and improve our practice
Our staff, Lived Experience Team, volunteers, sessional workers and trustees all bring invaluable experience, insight and dedication to everything they do.
To find out more about our work to achieve better care, equity and justice for all pregnant women, mothers and babies, please get in touch.
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