During the late stages of my pregnancy I suffered from pre-eclampsia and had to stay in a high dependency unit for 3 days, additionally I suffered some complications during labour that resulted in having an emergency cesarean to ensure the safe delivery of Henry. We then spent 3 days on the labour ward recovering.

As you probably know hospital visitation is restricted due to Covid-19. Fortunately Ben was able to spend a limited amount of time with me whilst I was under high dependency, however, when we moved onto the labour ward there was no visitation allowed. This time on the labour ward was incredibly difficult, although the midwifery team did an absolutely outstanding job, I didn't want to heavily rely on my buzzer for the midwives attention knowing they too are under a lot of strain as many of their more experienced members where being shielded from Covid themselves. It really gave me an insight of what it is like for Mothers in recovery that have no additional support around them.

Before being discharged from the hospital I was asked several times if I had support at home, and we are fortunate enough to have an absolute wealth of support around us that we could not be more grateful for. I found it absolutely heartbreaking to think about the families that under normal circumstances who do not have a network of family and friends to support them and their children; that may know nothing bar isolation for months or even years which is only exacerbated with the current pandemic .

The more I thought about these families the more upset I felt, so we would like to take the opportunity to fund raise for the charity Home Start. They are a national charity that assist families struggling with isolation, post-natal depression, physical health problems, bereavement and many other issues to receive the support of a volunteer who will spend around two hours a week in a family’s home supporting them in the ways they need. They also support families in groups, hold day trips and Christmas parties and help access local services, as well as lots of other support.

Any help you can give will go a long way in helping these families receive the support they need and help them become a part of a community.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for supporting a great cause.
Grace, Ben and Henry
xx

Grace Taylor