There are many things that might worry you when you’re pregnant:

• Domestic abuse
• Financial struggles
• Physical or mental health issues
• Insecure or poor-quality housing
• Lack of a support network

If you’re facing any of these worries, you’re not alone, and we’re here to help.

Research shows that you are more likely to suffer complications in pregnancy if:

• You are particularly young, feeling isolated from your friends and worrying about money, causing stress and impacting the wellbeing of you and your baby.
• You live in an area affected by deprivation where you don’t have easy access to public services like health and education services, where housing is of poor quality, or where there is a lack of employment opportunities.

What are we doing?

When it comes to helping people create a safe home environment for themselves and their babies, here are the things we’re doing:

• Striving to ensure pregnant people get to see the same health professionals throughout their pregnancies to build trust and manage their care.
• Increasing access to perinatal mental health support.
• Raising awareness of our services to make it easier for pregnant people to access the support they want and need.
• Collaborating across organisational and professional boundaries to ensure a joined-up approach to reach people earlier in their pregnancies and put the best support in place, for example, linking pregnant people with those who offer support with housing issues.
• Facilitating access to cultural competency training for health and care colleagues to ensure safe home information and advice is culturally relevant and appropriate.

What can you do?

Talk to your midwife, health visitor, GP or pharmacist about your concerns. They can put you in touch with support.

• Domestic abuse can take many forms and can happen to anyone. If you feel unsafe in your home, you are experiencing (or feel at risk of) domestic abuse, talk to your midwife, who can direct you to help with housing, counselling and even with approaching the authorities if that’s what you want to do. Charities like Refuge and Women’s Aid can also offer advice and guidance.
• If you’re living on a low income, there are a number of government benefits specifically for people who are pregnant.
• If your home isn’t safe because it is overcrowded or in a state of disrepair, or if you are threatened with eviction, you can make a homeless application to your local council.
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