Parents 1st UK

Led by experienced practitioners, Parents 1st UK is a charity set up to help effective perinatal volunteering and peer support to flourish during pregnancy, birth and beyond. We work both nationally and locally in Essex.

Our ‘open source’ online community platform, is dedicated to sharing all the resources necessary to set up a perinatal peer support initiative. It shares all the tools our local programme in Essex uses in daily practice, from budget setting to impact tracking. Working with commissioners and providers, Parents 1st UK also provides consultancy and workshops across the UK to help build new perinatal peer support initiatives in communities.

Our local programme in Essex delivers perinatal peer support to parents, through 1-1 or group support. Peer supporters engage and develop trusting relationships with parents during pregnancy, continue support through birth and the first few months afterwards.