Providing birth support for those that have none

Aim

Providing doulas for vulnerable women to be supported through pregnancy, birth&the postnatal period. No-one should start motherhood alone.

Who Are We?

Elayos (pronounced E.lay.os) is derived from the Greek word "Eleos" which means compassion. 

Elayos is a Birmingham-based female-led charity that was formed in September 2019 by Amelia Sommers and Hope Plumb. Two doulas (definition to follow)

(from L-R Hope Plumb, Amelia Sommers) 

who recognised that there were vulnerable and isolated women within their community that needed emotional, physical, and practical support in their journey to motherhood.  

And here we are not even two years later...

(From L-R Amelia Sommers and baby Margot, Crystal Horner, Suzie Damerell-Hinds)

One of our original founding members is Suzie (doula) and we have since been joined by Crystal (doula). We also have a thriving team of trained volunteers who assist us with our day-to-day activities. 

(An Elayos Volunteer Training Day in progress) 

We have grown so fast over the last 18months that we needed the services of Kelly, our Volunteer Co-Ordinator, and most recently, Amy who is our Baby Bank Manager (more on this later) 

What Do We Do? 

Perhaps first we should explain exactly what a doula is! 

Doulas nurture and support women either throughout labour and birth or in the postnatal period (or both!). As non-medical professionals, we are there to provide support (be that practical, physical, emotional, information providing, or as your advocate), no matter what decisions the client makes or how they give birth. 

From the point of referral Elayos doulas give support by offering one on one pre and post-natal advice, friendship, and signposting during pregnancy, labour/birth, and into the fourth trimester by:

• Accompanying to and advocating during hospital appointments
• Relieving birth anxiety and PTSD surrounding giving birth
• Providing advocacy & support when working with social services (inc. Child Protection C Conferences, Core Group Meetings, Looked After Child and Child In Need reviews, accompanying to 'contact' meetings) 
• Empowering mum to make informed choices about the birth and feeding (inc. support to come up with Birth Preferences)
• Helping to pack the hospital bag 
• Offering a 24/7 'on call' service from week 38
• Supporting throughout birth (natural and cesarean section), staying with our clients throughout until feeding has been established
• Breastfeeding support from trained Breastfeeding Peers
• Supplying essential baby items from our Baby Bank
• Home Postnatal visits to check on the wellbeing of mum and baby and to help out around the house
• Buying and dropping of groceries to those that can't get out of the house easily
• Signposting to other local organisations
• Accompanying to local community groups to relieve isolation
• Park walks/exploring the local amenities 

(Doula Hope dressing a freshly born baby whilst mum recovers from her c-section)

(Groceries for mums that cannot get out to the supermarket) 

(Accompanying mum to her local amenities) 

Elayos Baby Bank Unit 

In April 2021 we were given some space to enable us to establish our very own Baby Bank Unit. All items are pre-loved and donated by the public. This means that we can give out essential items to those that cannot afford to buy them. 

We stock:

• baby clothes
• maternity clothes
• items for hospital bags
• prams
• Moses' Baskets
• bouncer chairs
• playmats
• nappies
• formula
• bottles

(Elayos Baby Bank Unit)

Who We Help

Our service users are:

• those suffering from mental health illnesses
• Human Trafficking survivors
• offenders and ex-offenders
• women who work on the streets
• women with drug and alcohol addictions
• teenagers
• concealed pregnancies
• migrants
• refugees
• domestic violence survivors

On average, we receive 2-3 new referrals each week. These referrals come from Community Midwives, Specialist Midwives, Perinatal Mental Health teams, social workers, and charities such as Women's Aid and Anawim.

Why Do We Need Funding?

Our charity is not yet 2 years old and yet we have supported over 300 women so far. 

Currently, we only have enough money to employ our doulas for part-time hours but they are needed to work full-time hours. 

Reimbursing our volunteers' mileage costs, paying for hospital parking, buying a box of formula and nappies - we will use this funding to be able to pay for all of these things. 

This project successfully funded on 21st September 2021