A £4,000 grant from the Merchants House of Glasgow is supporting Amma Birth Companions’ Amma Family peer support programme, bringing mothers and babies together for friendship, practical parenting support and community connection.

Based at Amma’s Glasgow city centre hub, the programme provides a safe, welcoming space where women can come together each week to build genuine friendships, share experiences and support one another. The flexible drop-in format means women can participate when they are able and for as long as they need.

Funding will help Amma develop this rapidly growing programme, enabling them to introduce new activities, increase attendance and reach more families. Sessions combine practical parenting and wellbeing workshops with social connection, shared meals and peer support. Barriers to participation are reduced through interpreters, travel-cost reimbursement and nutritious food.

The programme also extends beyond the weekly sessions, with trips to museums, parks and beaches helping families explore Glasgow, build connections and create positive memories together.

A representative said: “We are so grateful to the Merchants House of Glasgow for their recent grant of £4,000. Amma Birth Companions exists to ensure that nobody needs to face pregnancy, childbirth or early parenthood alone. Our work tackles deep-rooted health inequalities, reduces isolation, and improves wellbeing for parents and babies – even before they’re born. We provide trauma-informed, culturally safe perinatal support to women facing poverty, inequality and barriers to healthcare, including those from migrant and other underserved and disadvantaged groups. We help families navigate maternity services, make informed choices, and build community. The programme creates lasting impact that ripples outward. Women who arrive feeling isolated and uncertain gradually become confident, connected mothers. Many go on to volunteer with Amma, using their lived experience to support others and embodying the empowerment at the heart of our work.”

About Amma Birth Companions

Amma Birth Companions began online during lockdown and has since developed into a growing programme of in-person activities from its Glasgow city centre hub.

The Amma Family programme aims to help parents feel less isolated and better able to build supportive networks; increase their access to specialist services through referrals and signposting; improve their wellbeing during pregnancy and childbirth; and feel more confident in meeting their children’s needs and fostering warm, secure relationships with them.

The programme is managed and coordinated by Amma’s peer support team, comprising three part-time staff alongside dedicated volunteer peer supporters, many of whom are current or former Amma clients.

At the heart of Amma’s approach is the belief that the community itself should help shape the support it receives. Participants are encouraged to influence the format and direction of activities, ensuring the programme responds to their experiences and needs. All activities take a trauma-informed approach, recognising the unique and complex circumstances of the families Amma supports.

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