BirthWise

A grassroots movement of expectant and new parents and those who support them.

We connect, empower, inform, and support new parents.
We campaign for continuous improvements in maternity care and other relevant services.

Connect

We tackle loneliness, isolation, fear and anxiety by connecting women/parents with each other.

Empower

We are founded on a rights-based approach and support women/parents to make the choices that are right for them. We advocate for individual women accessing maternity and other relevant services.

Inform

As an evidence-based charity, we curate and share evidence on matters relevant to pregnancy, birth, infant feeding and attachment.

• We provide accurate, evidence-based information to enable women/parents to make the choices that are right for them.
• We also provide information to increase knowledge and confidence in the community, challenging myths, fears and misconceptions.
• We provide accurate information to challenge non-evidence based beliefs in the community about pregnancy, birth, feeding, early parenting and maternity services.

Support

• We support women and parents 1:1 through our antenatal and postnatal advocacy work.
• We create and strengthen community networks to reduce isolation and build connections.
• We support women and those around them to design, create, and deliver appropriate services in their local community. These groups and activities are parent-led, organic, and responsive to local wishes and needs.

Campaign

We work with elected representatives, policymakers and HSC leaders at local level and NI-wide in the co-design and co-production of service changes, guidelines, and policy.

This includes:

• Maternity Services Liaison Committees
• Working groups and task & finish groups within HSC trusts.
• NI-wide work led by DoH, RQIA, HSCB, and PHA.