Traditionally women were supported throughout pregnancy, birth and postnatally by a social circle. Due to our modern way of living, circles have been eroded and are less common or strong than before. We don’t always live close to our relatives and friends and even when we do, we all live very busy lives. Offering support and advice to your pregnancy friends and family is essential for the child’s development and the parent’s mental health.
Our groups and courses are designed to give parents and pregnancy friends the support they may be lacking. Emotional support and feeling socially connected are vital to health and well-being. The effects of social isolation can be more damaging to our physical health than smoking, drinking and obesity. Our mental health is directly affected by loneliness and negativity.
During your course, it can be a good idea to offer a support service, asking your clients to think about who they have in their pregnancy support groups and to start to build it now.
The Immediate Circle
Create your immediate circle: partner, mother, father, sibling, other family members, intimate close friends.
Talk about your feelings. It is important to be seen and heard and feel validated through your experiences. Let them support you and respond to your needs. It is important to express your needs so that you feel secure, safe and relaxed.
Ask for the things that make you feel good such as a nightly foot massage or having someone elevate your feet. Practically ask for things to nourish you like food and for help around the house or with jobs.
Invite your partner to take part in a birth preparation course and to come to appointments.
Get people involved. Give people a role, and let them know how much you appreciate this and how important their support is. Friendship pregnancy is a special time when surrounded by close family and friends, maintain a social life and connect with friends. You don’t need to do it alone.
Second Outer Circle
Your second outer circle includes your community, work community, neighborhood, and outer friendship circle. Again, don’t be afraid to involve people and to ask for help.
The second outer circle can help ensure a positive and energetically good environment that will affect you and your baby.
Pregnant friends can lift you emotionally and lighten the load. Pregnancy friends assist by helping with older children, cooking food, or dropping in to help.
Third Circle – Pregnancy Support Groups
This is where our classes and services come in and add even more layers of nurturing for pregnant people. We host pregnancy support groups for people to explore and discuss their feelings to learn and to question what is aligned for them. The space we create can be very empowering for pregnant people as it is non-judgmental, creating pregnancy friends and enabling them to truly expand into motherhood.
Sadly in our culture, it is often the pregnant person who has to seek out this support. In many cultures, it is provided automatically and the mother does not need to worry about where the support comes from. Friendship pregnancy is not as present in the United Kingdom compared to other countries. Thinking about circles of support before the baby comes can help pregnant people feel more confident about parenthood. The new mother needs to be held as much as the new baby.
