Free Therapeutic Groups for Parents and Babies.

Aim

Please help us to raise £10,000 to deliver our life-changing Rockabye groups for parents and babies.

‘Rockabye has been such an accepting, gentle and nurturing space for me. This is both due to the support and vulnerability of the other mums and the skill and sensitivity of the group leaders who facilitate everything and help create a safe environment. I've struggled a lot with my mental health during my pregnancy and this would have been far worse if I hadn't attended Rockabye. I now feel more positive and intentional about my capability as a mother and more connected with my growing baby. I hope this amazing group is one that other mums can continue to benefit from - it's made a big impact on me and I would absolutely recommend it to others who are experiencing difficulties around pregnancy and motherhood.’

Being a parent with a new baby is hard. Parents  can often end up feeling like everyone else is doing it better, and they are the only one who is struggling. This can leave them feeling isolated, low and like there's something wrong with them, and of course full of parent-guilt because they love their babies and so feel they 'shouldn't' be feeling like this! This is where Rockabye comes in. 

We are a small but visionary organisation based in Bristol which runs groups for parents and their babies antenatally and postnatally to support the parent-infant relationship, and to bring joy into parenting. We work mostly with mums and babies, but in the last few years we have started running a group for expectant parents which includes dads and co-parents.

In our groups we create a space that is warm, welcoming, non-judgemental and gives parents a chance to share how it really is to be a parent - the warts-and-all reality rather than the glossy social media version. 

We know that if parents can acknowledge, accept and ultimately welcome all aspects of their experience (even the bits that we wish were different) with compassion, they will feel a whole lot better and much less alone. 

At Rockabye, our clients are not just the parents but the babies too. We recognise that babies are intentional, thinking, feeling human beings. Their experience in utero, during birth and beyond is often disregarded in our culture, but actually lays down a template for how they experience the world and relationships as they grow up. 

Rockabye is evidence-based and draws from latest neurobiology findings to inform our practice. Science tells us that it is in the first few years of  life when connections in the brain are made. This crucial time lays down the foundations for infant neural development.  Babies that experience secure early attachment with their caregivers are more able to grow up into adults who can navigate the complexities of life with resilience and flexibility, and also make a positive contribution to the world around them. Trying to offer your baby the very best start in life can feel like a huge responsibility. It is made so much easier when we feel part of a welcoming and supportive network like Rockabye. 

Rockabye is made up of three Co Directors and a team of therapists and practitioners who are trained, highly skilled and knowledgeable in the field of parent-infant support.  

Each Rockabye group is between 6-10 weeks long and is free to attend so that we can reach families who wouldn’t be able to afford this support if they had to pay. We have historically received statutory funding but that is no longer secure, and we are now facing cutbacks. The climate is increasingly challenging for little organisations like ours so we are reaching out to supporters with the help of Crowdfunder to ensure that we can continue to reach those families who desperately need our services.

It is our aim to raise £10,000 which would help us to provide enough groups to meet the high need and demand for our services.

Below are some quotes from a recent group of mums and babies.

‘This group is amazing. Thank you so so much. You make me a better mother’

 'I was surprised by my confidence expressing myself to others and my baby developing social skills and smiles during session’

 ‘I was quite anxious to join but surprised with how confident I became’

 'It’s given me a space to be open/honest and I’ve made friends as well’

 ‘Absolutely brilliant - don’t change a thing!’

 ‘She likes interacting with the other babies and really started recognising the songs after a few sessions’

 ‘I felt heard, seen and built a very nice group of mums.’

  ‘I didn’t know I was holding onto that much!’

 ‘Being able to share and know we are all going through the same experiences has been the highlight.’

 ‘Definitely it has made it easier’ [to join other groups]

 ‘My baby is relaxed, calm, happy. Enjoys all the activities and other babies.’

 'The sessions have been so welcoming and supportive’

 ‘I was very nervous at the start. I have now made friends for life.’

 ‘Baby loves the sessions. But not as much as I do’

 ‘Since joining my baby has developed so well socially and we’ve both learnt so much and bonded’

 'I have absolutely loved these sessions. They have been the highlights of my week and I always looked forward to them. I’ve loved the variety of activities, singing dancing, playing, talking and making new friends.’

 ‘I first found it hard to speak about how I felt but I always felt supported, heard and safe.’

 ‘Incredible!! I have felt so welcomed and safe from the first conversation. The leaders are such genuine, kind, caring individuals.’

The above is a small example of the wonderful feedback we regularly receive from our families. It is an enormous privilege to work for Rockabye as we see the difference that our groups make. Many of our families go on to create lasting friendships .It is often said that, 'It takes a village to raise a child'; and it is in Rockabye groups that the village starts to be built. Love is at the heart of Rockabye, and it is our aim and honour to shower our families with compassion , understanding and care so that they feel nourished and nurtured. When a parent has been resourced in this way, they are then in turn more able to nourish and nurture their baby.

The following is from a dad who attended one of our groups.

'Our experience of Rockabye was incredibly positive, it meant that we had an outlet to share our thoughts and feelings that we wouldn’t normally be able to in our everyday lives. It was also incredibly important to be surrounded by people who had similar worries and anxieties. We all shared our own stories and although everyone was very different we were able to find a community within our group where everyone was heard and seen. Each session was incredibly valuable for us, and each presented a new topic for us to discuss, ranging from how we would want to parent, our journey up until this point and our childhoods. It also helped so much to realise that we weren’t alone and that our feelings were valid. It helped us realise that what we were going through was normal and also helped build and strengthen the bond with our baby, allowing us to fully enjoy the experience of pregnancy.' 

Please help us to continue the  life-changing work of Rockabye; even a small amount can make a difference. We are aware of how much people are struggling financially in the current climate so we understand if you are not able to give anything. If that is the case, we'd be so grateful if you could share our story with your networks. We believe that in supporting families and babies, we are investing in the future of everyone. The babies of today are the adults of tomorrow. It really matters that they have the best possible start to build a more loving and caring future for us all.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 21st September 2026 at 4:17pm