Tower Hamlets charity recruiting volunteers to support mums-to-be

Women’s Health and Family Services (WHFS) offers a number of services to address health inequalities, particularly those experienced by disadvantaged women.

Amongst those is the Maternity Mates programme, which provides support to some 300 expectant mothers every year, pairing each with a volunteer who helps them navigate the rigours of motherhood.

The importance of this volunteer drive can be seen in how the service impacts those who have used it.

Tower Hamlets resident Alda is now the mother of seven-month-old twin daughters Agape and Andriana.

An event in her life that should've been solely defined by joy was sadly tinged with difficulty, as the 28-year-old faced the unenviable task of going her pregnancy alone.

Alda saw a poster for the programme during a hospital visit in the latter stages of her pregnancy, which proved invaluable as she navigated a tricky journey. (Image: Women’s Health and Family Services (WHFS))

A quick glance at the wall of a hospital waiting room changed everything for Alda, setting her on the path that sees her now want to become a Maternity Mate.

Alda moved to London two years ago to help her parents pay off their mortgage, and was working in the hospitality industry when she started seeing someone: "When I found out I was pregnant, he said that he wasn’t ready to be a father and offered to pay for an abortion. I told him I didn’t want to do that and we split up."

A subsequent conversation with her father compounded the situation; not only was Alda isolated in Tower Hamlets, but she couldn't return home either.

Being a single mum in Greece was considered too big a stigma to bear, and so she was left to manage with "no money, no savings and no one to turn to".

None of the adversity dampened Alda's desire to be a mother, but her resolve was tested further when a six-week ultrasound revealed she was carrying twins: "I was over the moon – it has always been my dream to have children. Of course, I had imagined my pregnancy rather differently, with the moral support of a partner, but that wasn’t to be."

Feelings of happiness aside, the realities of carrying twins soon took their toll, particularly as Alda continued to work in a physically demanding role up until the seventh month of her pregnancy.

A hospital visit at that time proved to be the gamechanger, as she decided to follow up on a poster she had seen for Maternity Mates: "I started thinking 'I have no experience with babies, I have no idea of what to expect, this could be a really important step for me'."

Shortly after she was paired up with Shamima, a mother of five (including twins).

Covid-19 meant they couldn't meet in person, but despite this, Alda felt able to rely upon the "amazing" Shamima.

Not only was she a vital source of practical information, she also offered huge emotional support: "She really lifted my spirits and helped me to stay positive during my pregnancy. It gave me hope to know that I wasn’t alone."

Though support during pregnancy is key, the role of Maternity Mates goes beyond that: "My beautiful baby girls were born by caesarean. Shamima was at the hospital for three hours after the birth. She also came to visit me while I was in hospital, bringing nappies and other items I needed."

Alda continues to be struck by how Shamima helped a "stranger", purely because she cares.

With the twins - for whom Alda's love "gets stronger day by day" - now seven months old, she's ready to give back: "My dream is to become a Maternity Mate and to give back to the community even just a small part of what was given to me. I want other lonely mums to have the same positive experience that I had."

Do you live in east London, have two hours a week to spare and want to make a difference to a vulnerable pregnant woman’s life? Maternity Mates is now recruiting and is particularly in need of volunteers who speak Albanian, Arabic (Egyptian), Mandarin, Somali and Urdu. Please email Maternity.Mates@whfs.org.uk or visit whfs.org.uk/ for more information.