Poundland Foundation supports Tommy’s Midwives’ Helpline as calls rise.
A £200,000 grant from the Poundland Foundation has funded Tommy’s free midwife-led support service, which helps thousands of families every year.
Funding from the Poundland Foundation has allowed Tommy’s to continue an award-shortlisted helpline specifically for Black and Black Mixed Heritage women.
The Poundland Foundation is supporting Tommy’s Midwives’ Helpline, which provides expert advice and support for mums across the UK and Ireland.
One in two adults across the UK have been affected by baby loss1, which is why the Poundland Foundation is so proud to provide funding for pregnancy and baby charity Tommy’s nationwide midwife-led helpline. The helpline offers support for anyone who is having problems in pregnancy or who needs support after losing a baby.
The helpline answers around 9,000 calls and emails every per year, with numbers doubling since 2020.
Most calls to the helpline concern early pregnancy, pregnancy loss and mental health support – guidance for which is often lacking in the NHS.
Alongside its primary helpline, funding from the Poundland Foundation also enabled Tommy’s to continue a dedicated helpline service set up in 2022 specifically for Black and Black Mixed-Heritage women.
Women in this group are more than twice as likely to experience stillbirth and 43 per cent more likely to experience a miscarriage than White women.
Without exception, callers said they would recommend the helpline to others.
Poundland Foundation manager Lucy Ruff said: “Tommy’s and its team of midwives are doing vital work to provide comfort, advice and support for mums and mums-to-be across the UK and Ireland – and the Poundland Foundation is thrilled to support them.
“We are particularly honoured to have facilitated Tommy’s efforts in providing much-needed aid for Black women specifically. Black families are less likely to get support or treatment when it is needed in pregnancy, and the Poundland Foundation is proud to fund Tommy’s specialist helpline, to help reduce the unfair increased risk of pregnancy complications and baby loss.”
Jo Barclay Bowen, Deputy Director of Philanthropy and Partnerships at Tommy’s, said: “We’re doing all we can at Tommy’s to make pregnancy and birth safe for everyone, saving babies’ lives and sparing families from the devastation of loss. Our midwives play a key role in helping us towards that goal, through the expert support they provide for the thousands of people every year who contact our helplines.
“We’re immensely grateful to the Poundland Foundation for their incredible support, which is enabling us to make a difference for so many.”
