We welcome the launch of the long-awaited PPO investigation into the use of restraints during pregnancy and birth, but maintain serious concerns about the absence of legal funding for women affected, and of structured support or outreach to help them engage. Read our full statement:

This year, Birth Companions marks 30 years of standing alongside pregnant women and mothers through some of the most difficult and complex situations imaginable. Find out more: www.birthcompanions.org.uk/articles/30-... #BirthCompanions30

"In the end I gave up begging them to remove the handcuffs because I was so exhausted by the time I had to push my baby out.” Vital coverage of the barbaric practice of shackling imprisoned women during pregnancy and birth, and of the deeply flawed terms of the PPO's investigation. bit.ly/4cZqXzS

Birth Companions and @nyasservices.bsky.social are pleased to announce that we'll be working with the APPG for Care Experienced Children and Young People to lead a national inquiry into the intergenerational cycle of care involvement in England. More details coming soon!

One week to go! Find out more and apply to be our new Communications and Campaigns Officer: www.birthcompanions.org.uk/work-with-us

Could you be our new Communications and Campaigns Officer? Applications are open now, until 5pm on 29 January 2026 Find out more: bit.ly/4jw6Tqf

LOLLIPOP airs tonight on BBC2 at 11pm & will be on iPlayer soon afterwards. It’s a powerful film about a mother's release from prison and how the housing, social care and justice systems too often perpetuate cycles of harm rather than breaking them. www.birthcompanions.org.uk/articles/sto...

Today we brought award-winning film LOLLIPOP into Parliament and the passion in the room was unmistakable. The conversations were heartbreaking, challenging and grounded in the realities mothers and families face every day. We’re deeply grateful to @jessasatomp.bsky.social for hosting us.

Today we’re taking the film LOLLIPOP into Parliament. Watching clips, sharing lived experience, and talking honestly about maternal imprisonment, social care and housing, with a focus on opportunities for change. Did you hear @jessasatomp.bsky.social talking about it on Radio 4's Today Programme?

On Tuesday the Birth Companions Institute is screening Lollipop in Parliament with @jessasatomp.bsky.social. A powerful film. Real insights. An urgent conversation about how this film can drive real policy change in maternal imprisonment, social care, housing and the family courts. bit.ly/4qnpHdS

We are delighted to announce that Tanya Tracey, previously our Criminal Justice Services Manager, has this month taken on the role of Director of Services. Read all about this change in Birth Companions' senior leadership team: www.birthcompanions.org.uk/articles/tan...

Fancy being part of our incredible team? We’re recruiting for a new Communications and Campaigns Officer, sitting within the Birth Companions Institute. Join us in driving better care, equity and justice for pregnant women, mothers and their babies. Find out more and apply: bit.ly/4jw6Tqf

Today we stand together with our Ambassador @leahhazard.bsky.social to affirm a vital truth: pregnant, birthing and postnatal women have fundamental human rights. No matter where they are, no matter how challenging their circumstances, these rights must be respected, protected, and upheld.

We're all over the moon about #LostMothers win at last night's @cjalliance.bsky.social awards! Driven throughout by women with experience of maternal imprisonment & separation, this research really was ground-breaking. What a privilege to be involved. @midwifeteacher.bsky.social@cleanbrk.bsky.social

Today’s National Emergency Briefing on the climate and nature emergency is vital. But it is also vital that we recognise this as a reproductive justice emergency. @nebriefing.bsky.social @wen-uk.bsky.social bit.ly/3M9FcH0

We're delighted that the Birth Companions Institute has secured significant funding from @impurbanhealth.bsky.social and the Henry Smith Foundation, allowing us to deepen and expand our work to achieve better care, equity and justice over the next three years. Find out more: bit.ly/4p4xFrL

We are pleased to be signatories on this important open letter to the Government, calling on them to protect families and children by scrapping plans in the Sentencing Bill to name and shame people delivering Community Payback schemes in their entirety. Read the full open letter here: bit.ly/4qqotyX

We’re delighted to welcome Leah Hazard - midwife, author and women’s health advocate as our newest Ambassador. Leah’s bestselling books Hard Pushed and Womb have helped change how we talk about maternity care and women’s bodies. Learn more: www.birthcompanions.org.uk/articles/leah-hazard-ambassador

Thanks to your incredible generosity, we smashed our Big Give target and raised over £26,000 to support pregnant women, mothers and babies experiencing severe disadvantage. Donations were doubled through the Big Give Women & Girls Match Fund, until we hit our target, meaning twice the impact. 🧵1/4

Less than 24 hours to go! Thank you to everyone who has donated so far and helped us hit our target. Match funding may have ended, but there is still time to donate and support us to stand alongside pregnant women, mothers and their babies facing incredibly difficult circumstances: bit.ly/439N5Sr

Just 48 hours left to donate through the Big Give! Our match funding may have ended, but we still need your help. This is our only fundraiser this year, and your support enables us to stand alongside pregnant women, mothers and babies facing incredibly difficult circumstances. DONATE: bit.ly/439N5Sr

The women we support tell us what it means to be seen, heard and cared for in some of the most difficult and isolating circumstances. “Without them I couldn’t have the confidence to give birth. I am so grateful that there is a service that offers women a voice and support.” DONATE: bit.ly/439N5Sr

DONATE NOW and make double the difference for pregnant women, mothers and babies experiencing severe disadvantage in the UK today. Every £ you donate until midday on 15th October will be matched, until we hit our £10k target. DONATE: bit.ly/439N5Sr #HopeBeginsHere #WGMF #BirthCompanions #BigGive

From 8–15 October, every donation to Birth Companions via the Big Give will be doubled until the match funding runs out – unlocking up to £20,000 to support women and babies experiencing severe disadvantage. One donation. Twice the impact. 🌟Donate today: bit.ly/439N5Sr #HopeBeginsHere #WGMF

HOPE Boxes are now live across South East London! 🎉 We've been part of the Giving HOPE project since day one, working alongside the inspiring HOPE Mothers who designed these boxes. We couldn't be more thrilled to see them rolling out to more areas across the country. Read more: bit.ly/3KGgAVJ

Save the Date! Our week-long Big Give Women & Girls Match Fund campaign kicks off on Wed 8 Oct, midday. This means donations will be doubled until we hit our £10k target. Keep an eye on our website and social channels for updates at 12pm on Wednesday. #WGMF

We’re delighted to welcome Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti as Birth Companions’ new #ambassador - a writer for stage, screen and radio whose work has broken new ground and challenged audiences for over two decades. www.birthcompanions.org.uk/articles/gur...

Read our full response to the Sentencing Bill on our new website: www.birthcompanions.org.uk/articles/sen...

Good, bad, or somewhere in between? The government’s new Sentencing Bill has given us all a lot to think about. bit.ly/42EIZS5 🧵1/4

We’re gathered at @impurbanhealth.bsky.social for the launch of the #BirthCompanionsInstitute. Thank you to our brilliant speakers @mayasikand.bsky.social, @karenb-2.bsky.social, Ivie Itoje from @wen-uk.bsky.social, Brooklyn and Tuesdae from our Lived Experience Programme, and Hannah Rayment-Jones.

Today we’re launching the Birth Companions Institute, a new centre of expertise dedicated to achieving better care, equity and justice for pregnant women and mothers, and their babies. #BirthCompanionsInstitute #1001Days

We’re delighted to welcome Dr Annabel Sowemimo as Birth Companions’ new ambassador. A doctor, academic, activist, writer & founder of the Reproductive Justice Initiative, Annabel's work focuses on tackling health inequalities, racial disparities and improving access to care for marginalised groups.

We’re getting ready to launch something special next week, building on our 30 years of experience. Keep an eye on our website and social channels for updates. #BirthCompanionsInstitute

The findings of this year's @npeu-oxford.bsky.social MBRRACE-UK report on maternal deaths are, more than ever, deeply challenging. They present a stark picture of unmet need, widening inequalities and rising inequity. Read Birth Companions' response here: www.birthcompanions.org.uk/articles/mbr...

We're hiring! Our new Criminal Justice Services Manager will manage and develop all aspects of Birth Companions’ criminal justice-based services, and line-manage our team of criminal justice support coordinators. Find out more: www.birthcompanions.org.uk/pages/96-vac...

New report out today: Understanding Dual Contact for Women In this @crimeandjustice.bsky.social Working Paper, our Head of Policy Kirsty Kitchen discusses the significant, but largely neglected, overlap between the criminal justice system and children’s social care. bit.ly/3Ul7kb8

Researchers on the NoRePF Study @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social are inviting health and social care professionals and students complete a short survey about immigration policy understanding, NHS charging and confidence in supporting migrant families. Take part: qualtrics.kcl.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_...

As the day closes, we have reconvened to discuss reflections and next steps. "Themes across breakout groups were remarkably similar. We need better connected systems, and understanding that giving families a voice makes things better for everyone." Angela Frazer Wicks @familyrightsgp.bsky.social

"We need to ensure that our systems can deal with complexity. The national care pathway will make a real difference if we can make it engage with complexity then it will be able to be more compassionate and empathetic." @kirstykitchen @birthcompanions.bsky.social #CSC1001

A third of women who died during or in the year after pregnancy were known to Children’s Social Care. Authors from @kingslsm.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk & @birthcompanions.bsky.social say urgent changes are needed to prioritise & improve mothers’ care. www.kcl.ac.uk/news/study-l...

Important research from @nihr.bsky.social @birthcompanions.bsky.social ‪@oxpop.bsky.social‬ finding that a third of women who die during or shortly after pregnancy are known to children’s services. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Our new study with kingscollegelondon.bsky.social & npeu-oxford.bsky.social shows 1 in 3 women who died during pregnancy or the year after were known to children's social care - higher than previously reported. Today we’re spotlighting the context & lived realities behind the numbers. bit.ly/4lw7ybm

Do listen back to this morning's BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour, if you missed it. Thank you to Kaat De Backer and Amy Van Zyl for reporting and reflecting on the devastating findings in our report published today. www.birthcompanions.org.uk/resources/sp... www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Our new study with @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social & @npeu-oxford.bsky.social shows 1 in 3 women who died during or in the year after pregnancy were known to children’s social care - higher than previously reported. www.birthcompanions.org.uk/resources/sp...

Powerful roundtable on maternity and migration policy brings together women with lived experience, policymakers and researchers. arc-sl.nihr.ac.uk/news-insight...

We welcome yesterday's announcement of a national maternity investigation. We're encouraged to see explicit focus on the devastating inequalities experienced by Black and Asian women, and those living in the most deprived areas. Our full reflections here: www.birthcompanions.org.uk/articles/bir...

Birth Companions Response to the 2025 Comprehensive Spending Review www.birthcompanions.org.uk/articles/bir...

Join our friends @wen-uk.bsky.social for this year’s Green Baby Day event: a lunchtime session connecting toy safety with wider calls for environmental justice, health equity and regulatory reform. Wednesday 11 June 12:00–1:15pm Online www.tickettailor.com/events/women...

We also recently spoke to our member, @birthcompanions.bsky.social, about the Izzy Project, their service which provides trauma-informed non-judgmental 1:1 advocacy support for women experiencing separation shortly after birth: www.agendaalliance.org/news/birthco...

Join us (in person or online) to rethink support for families involved with children’s social care in the first 1001 days of their child's life. Hear from people with lived experience, practitioners and policymakers at this important event. 👇 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/childrens-...