Investment theme: Growing social connections, Improving health and well-being
Shona recently had the privilege of visiting Amma Birth Companions in Glasgow, where I was welcomed by a group of incredible women and even got a few baby cuddles along the way. It’s a real perk of the job to meet all these wonderful women and the baby cuddles were the icing on the cake!
Amma specialises in supporting pregnant women facing multiple disadvantages, many of whom are in the asylum system or living with insecure immigration status. A third of the women supported have experienced trafficking, while others have lived through FGM or sexual assault. Their work is nothing short of life-changing, reducing barriers to essential maternity services and ensuring no woman is left without care and compassion.
Thanks to our grant, ABC has been able to:
Strengthen its **Advocacy & Community Engagement programme**
Recruit a new **Advocacy & Community Engagement Manager**
Expand its **Experts by Experience group** to over 40 women, ensuring lived experiences shape all aspects of their work
Deliver **storytelling workshops** and co-create a powerful short film (currently in post-production) that shares migrant mothers’ challenges, resilience and hopes for the future
These outputs will support training, advocacy with the NHS and Scottish Government, and wider awareness-raising to tackle maternal health inequalities.
It was inspiring to see this work first-hand – and to witness the strength, warmth and solidarity of the women at the heart of Amma’s mission.
