Creating connections: social and emotional support during pregnancy for women experiencing family violence and homelessness

Birth for Humankind

Supported beneficiary groups within Women & Girls

Financially disadvantaged people | People at risk of homelessness/ people experiencing homelessness

Age Demographic

Families

Project Focus

Community development | Health

Project Area

Australia

VIC

Metro

Project Description

Over 12 months, we will provide doula support and childbirth education for 50 women experiencing homelessness and family violence (FV), during pregnancy, birth and early parenting. The project will improve birth and early parenting experiences and longer-term health and wellbeing outcomes for those least able to access quality, continuous care in Melbourne.

Our program directly responds to international evidence:

In Australia, less than 8% of pregnant women have access to continuity of care, despite the known benefits. Women experiencing social and financial disadvantage are even less likely to receive this model of care.
They are more likely to experience poorer health outcomes, resulting in intergenerational health inequity.
FV is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children. More than 25% of those who experience FV say it first occurred or increased when pregnant.

We will match clients with a skilled doula. Working alongside the public maternity system, doulas are key members of the care team. We take a trauma-informed approach that recognises the individual needs of clients who have experienced violence and abuse. This helps prepare them for the transition to parenthood and creates a safe space for themselves and their children.

Our doulas will be trained on the specific complex care needs of people experiencing FV and homelessness. This will also be made available to midwives and health workers, to improve quality of care for all women impacted by FV.

Expected Outcomes

Through this program we expect all clients to report an increase in confidence and preparedness for birth and parenting, and an experience of respectful maternity care as a result of the support we provide. Evidence shows that when women receive one-to-one, continuous, practical, emotional and physical support through pregnancy, birth and early parenting—such as through a doula—they have better birth experiences and a lifetime of better maternal and child health outcomes.

This includes:

Children are less likely to spend time in neonatal intensive care
Reduced likelihood of medical intervention at birth
Mothers are less likely to experience postnatal depression and anxiety
Improved bonding between mother and child.

Our strong reputation for providing quality care to women in crisis has led to increasingly complex referrals. Last year half the women who accessed our service had experienced family violence and 25% of our clients were experiencing homelessness or insecure housing. Our conversations with referrers and partners in the maternity and women’s health sector indicate that there is an ever-increasing need for this kind of support. This program begins to address the gap in current maternity service provision. 65% of our clients are referred from public maternity hospitals – demonstrating their understanding of the critical, complementary support service we provide to women. This program will further build our collaboration with the public health system.

Project Data & Lessons

We have supported births in all public maternity hospitals in Melbourne and Geelong. These partnerships with community health and social support service providers, will provide referrals to the program.

We will use these networks and our online education resources to offer professional development training to workers who support women experiencing homelessness or family violence, to have wider systemic influence.

Data will be collected through:

Pre- and post-service evaluation surveys with clients, to document their self-reported shifts in confidence and preparedness for birth and parenting
Regular doula reporting and case notes throughout the service
Surveying and reporting from referrers and maternity workers
Statistical data capturing on the intersectional client demographics and complexity of care needs (contributing to a wider body of evidence of client needs)
Statistical data capturing on client referral pathways and proportion coming from within the public maternity system.

We will use the outcomes and findings gathered from this data to advocate to government, public hospital management and other community health providers to increasingly integrate non-clinical, continuity of support models—such as use of doulas—alongside mainstream maternity services.

Stories and evidence will also be used to inform public communications, to raise awareness of the issues. Data will also contribute to our monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks and impact reporting.

Our program directly responds to international evidence:

In Australia, less than 8% of pregnant women have access to continuity of care, despite the known benefits. Women experiencing social and financial disadvantage are even less likely to receive this model of care.
They are more likely to experience poorer health outcomes, resulting in intergenerational health inequity.
FV is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children. More than 25% of those who experience FV say it first occurred or increased when pregnant.

Learn More

Project Dates

Project Commences: July 1, 2021

Project Completes: June 30, 2022

Funding Details

$75,000
Funding Needed

$35,000
Current Funding

$110,000
Total Project Costs

Approved Tax Deductability Status

Approved Tax Concession Charity

Other Funding Sources
Flannery Foundation, Argo Foundation

Other Support Opportunities
Impact investment, In-kind contributions, Pro bono services

Organisation Details

Birth for Humankind

ABN: d4cdc8bc80212d9993681d7b4b97bc03

ACNC Registration Link

Contact

Ruth Dearnley

Email: ceo@birthforhumankind.org

Phone: 0411772949

About Birth for Humankind

The evidence is clear – social and emotional support during pregnancy, labour and birth contribute to improved maternal and child health outcomes across the life span. That’s why Birth for Humankind provides complementary personal, emotional and practical support to women across greater Melbourne who are experiencing social and financial disadvantage. We work with women experiencing homelessness and/or family violence, women from new migrant, refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds, women with mental health issues, and women with no other support networks. We provide:Doula support – matching clients with volunteer non-clinical birth support professionals (doulas) to provide continuous personal and emotional support and improve access to services. We support more than 140 women each year. Education – targeted pregnancy and childbirth education in community languages to increase preparedness and confidence for birth and early parenting and support women to navigate the Victorian maternal health system. Professional training – helping maternity care professionals provide improved support for women experiencing systemic disadvantage, extending our reach beyond those who participate in our programs. Research and advocacy – influencing the maternal health system to better support women experiencing disadvantage through research, programmatic evidence and modelling best practice in our work.

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Brendan O’Flynn, Human Rights Watch

Also known as Australian Women Donors Network (ABN: 28 141 197 471), Australians Investing in Women is a registered charity endorsed by the Australian Tax Office as a deductible gift recipient (DGR1) under a special listing, all donations over $2 are tax deductible.