I’m a baby bank volunteer – we helped a mum who couldn’t leave hospital because she had nothing, our service is vital

Imagine getting a call about a mom with a three-day-old baby who can’t be discharged from the hospital because she doesn’t have anything for the newborn.

That’s the reality for Children’s Bank volunteer Kim Dewdney, who regularly helps struggling parents in Small Village children’s bank in london.

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Earlier this month, she had to urgently pack her essentials and go straight to the hospital.

Kim, 63, from south-west London, who works as a freelance tour guide, says: “I go at least one day a week. And we often get referrals from health professionals, social workers and health visitors for things like this.

“We usually get together for parents in need within a reasonable time frame.

“But every once in a while, I don’t know how often it happens, but quite often you’ll get an emergency referral.

“Usually they come from midwives and it’s usually someone in a hospital to deliver a baby and they have nothing, absolutely nothing.

“A couple of weeks ago there was one that particularly impressed me.

“The midwives talked to new mom about coming home but not only did she not have any of the usual things, she actually had no access to the stove.

“She couldn’t even boil the kettle, so she didn’t have a chance to heat up the baby formula.

“It’s just not worth thinking about, she would never be able to give her baby milk because the water has to be boiled to make it sterile.

“So they were looking for a way around that, and then we got a recommendation from them that said she didn’t have anything other than the number one priority, the bottle warmer.”

Kim and the team rushed to try to get everything they could for the newborn baby, but struggled to find an electric bottle warmer in the donation box.

She says: “You can get electric bottle warmers that you plug into an outlet and heat them up to the right temperature.

“So we were looking for one, we put together a bunch of clothes that could be given to a baby up to about six months.

“We put on bibs and gave her a brand new bottle bag, towels, toiletries, a pack of nappies, baby wipes, a baby bath, a pram etc.

“But I remember getting there and not having a bottle warmer because we didn’t have one one donated.

“Then we received those donations and went through each package in the hope that we could find a bottle warmer.

“And right at the bottom of the last bag was a brand new one that someone had donated.

“We were able to add that to the amount of stuff we’ve accumulated, put it all together, and the hospital is right next door to us. It was a real God sent.

“The hospital was waiting to discharge her and they couldn’t do that until she had things like being able to warm the baby’s milk.

“We’ve never seen mum, all our interactions are with the midwives, but you can just see their relief that she’s actually going to be fine.

“She was going to be able to do more than just feed her baby but to bathe her child and she had the essentials to keep her warm and cool in this weather.’

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This isn’t the first or last recommendation Kim will receive as a volunteer.

Even this week she got another call.

She says: “We had another one this week when mum already had two boys, so on those occasions we bought things for the baby and for the older boys, like books, to help everyone.”

Since cost of living crisis, Small Village In the first half of this year, the headquarters supported 50 percent more families than in the same period last year.

Kim says, “The number of referrals has skyrocketed. They went up during COVID because incomes went down and people lost their jobs.

“And now they have continued to grow.

“Because of the cost of living issue, people might be holding on to things a bit longer or people are giving them away to family and friends because you’re not sure if they’re going to be able to afford it rather than giving it away charity.

“And even sell it if you have an expensive pushchair and can make a few quid from it by selling it second-hand.

“People could do that instead of giving it away – so they have money for their electricity bill or something.

“There is a problem with donations and also with the number of people who need help.

“There are cases when they ask, but we just don’t have them.”

The Headquarters Little Village say they always need diapers and toiletries, as well as cribs, buggies and Moses baskets.

And in terms of clothing, they often fall short of newborn and three- to six-year-old clothing.

If people want to help their local children’s bank, monetary donations would be greatly appreciated as it helps keep children’s banks running and helping more families.

The money allows the children’s banks to buy some of the things they need, such as diapers and crib mattresses, and helps cover the cost of shipping to families.

Kim says: “Volunteering at the Children’s Bank is incredibly heartwarming, it’s a completely different way of thinking about what you’re doing, it’s nice to solve problems and you’re just constantly reminded of what’s going on in real life. the world

“These are people who sometimes can’t afford to take their child to the park, it’s terrible.

If we can help even a little, it will all be worth it.

“That’s why the Fabulous campaign and your donations are so important, they really do change lives.”

Head to Headquarters Little Village to find out more information