Tameside Pregnancy & Baby Fair event offers one-stop-shop for all parenting needs

The first Tameside Pregnancy and Baby Fair organised by the Tameside Council brought a wealth of information and services under one roof at the Hyde Town Hall. The event attracted 50 local families and new parents who could access advice for all stages of pregnancy and parenthood, making the event a huge success.

Smooth Transition to Parenthood

The unique event was free to attend, allowing parents to benefit from antenatal learning and support opportunities and help with the smooth transition into parenthood.

Executive Member for Population Health & Wellbeing, Councillor Eleanor Wills, commented:
“It’s fantastic that Tameside has provided this opportunity for parents and carers to speak to essential services to help on their pregnancy and parenting journeys. Our local family hubs continue to provide this free support and run lots of groups throughout the week, which I hope more families will access.”

A pool of information and support

There were 28 stalls, and these included a mix of representatives from essential services such as midwives, health visitors, family hubs, local charitable organisations that provide support services to parents, such as Home-Start Infant Feeding Team, Dad Matters, Maternity Voices Partnership, Maternity Actions and several small and locally run companies offering services to families.

“Maternity Action is a charity organisation dedicated to promoting the rights of all pregnant women, new parents, and their families, from social security to employment and healthcare. Today, I'm here to advise women and families about any concerns about the cost-of-living crisis. We can also advise new mums returning to work about flexible working requests, breastfeeding at work, and queries relating to the pay and benefits entitlements,” said Kate Fergusson of Maternity Action.

Infant feeding support for the new mum

It is hoped that parents are aware of the vast range of support on offer via Tameside’s family hubs, which provide free advice, activity sessions and support groups in Ashton, Droylsden, Stalybridge and Hyde. The centres offer services for children and young people from 0-19 years old and up to 25 years old for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their parents and carers.

Dennis Farrow, Manager, and Georgie Baddley, Infant Feeding Peer Support team of Home-Start Host, spoke with Tameside Reporter about new families' financial struggles.

“We’re a non-profit; we offer support across Tameside and Oldham. We are in Tameside Hospital and the community. We run antenatal clinics and support mums feeding effectively. Most are breastfeeding mixed feeding, and we support formula-feeding mums, too. We offer home visits in the community. We work really closely with midwives, and they refer to us. You can self-refer as well. We work seven days a week, so we are available from 9:30 in the morning till about 6:00 at night seven days a week. We also offer pump loans, if necessary,” Georgie informed.  

Inclusivity and breaking taboo

Forida Begum from Home-Start Parents Infant Mental Health Diversity Coordinator highlighted the stigma she often comes across in South-Asian immigrant families.

“I find our communities welcome peer support for breastfeeding well.

"However, one of the questions I do generally get asked is whether I am a social worker or social services. I feel new parents from ethnic minority backgrounds often fear that we are going to take their children away. I want to reiterate that we are Home Start, an independent charity organisation, and not social services. We’re here to support you, give you the right information and anything you need, and help you in your journey of parenthood. Nobody is going to take your child away. If this stigma can be overcome, the parents will be more receptive to what we have to offer,” she said poignantly.

A Success Story

Each attendee was given information about the services and teams that work together for local families from pregnancy through to early years.

“We want to give the children the best possible start in life. We want to widen the opportunities for parents' engagement with those services - all the information about the charities and the support services here today. It's valuable to have those conversations when you're pregnant or just had your baby, and we wanted to enable that conversation in a relaxed environment so everyone could feel that they would benefit from it,” said Heloise Taylor-Hutchinson, population health officer and one of the organisers of the Pregnancy and Baby Fair.  

At the end of the day, several content faces of new and expectant parents were seen coming out of the fair with information booklets and lots of giveaways to help on their journey.

*More information about the Best Start for Life can be found on the Go to Grow website: Getting the Best Start for Life – Grow (gotogrowtameside.co.uk) and at Family Hubs (tameside.gov.uk).

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