For the past fourteen years, Bradford Doulas have been providing practical and emotional support to vulnerable women and their families, during pregnancy, birth and the early days of parenthood.
From working closely with families to build positive and trusting relationships, Bradford Doulas have been able to connect with hundreds of vulnerable mothers, birthing people and their families and those at highest risk of health inequalities.
Shelley Franklin-King is the Service Manager at Bradford Doulas. Together with her colleagues and small team of trained volunteers, they work closely with statutory maternity services to complement the care for those who face multiple health inequalities.
“We primarily work in the Bradford city area, supporting women who may be seeking asylum, are new to the country, are isolated with no support system around them or have no one to come with them for the birth” explains Shelley.
“We will often receive referrals from community and hospital-based midwives, social prescribers, voluntary and charity sectors such as refugee support charities. People can self-refer – there are no specific criteria to be able to use our services.”
Supporting women and their families
“The word doula is a Greek word and means wise woman” explains Shelley. “It’s an age-old role of a person who is calm and is able to provide practical and emotional support during labour and early parenthood.”
Bradford Doulas support women, birthing people and their families in a variety of ways, during pregnancy, birth and during the early weeks of becoming a parent.
“Some of the ways we can support might be accompanying the families to midwifery appointments and organising visits to the labour ward or birth centre. This means the expectant women are familiar with the environment and it’s a less daunting experience, particularly if the families are new to the country and are unfamiliar with the healthcare system.”
“Some of the people we support have nothing for the baby, so we assist with connecting them with food banks and baby banks, so they can get essentials such as equipment and baby clothes.”
Supporting women to have positive births
“Volunteer doulas are a birthing partner for women during labour,” Shelley explains. “Our aim here is to ensure that the women or birthing people feel safe and respected. We want everyone to have a positive birth experience.”
This means the doulas are on standby and available in the middle of the night to head down to the maternity unit (or attend for a homebirth) when the women are going into labour. They will also make sure that an interpreter is present during the birth so that they can explain what is happening, thus breaking down communication barriers.
“Doulas do not give out medical advice and our aim is always to meet people where they are both physically and emotionally and we can make a tangible and positive impact for all of the women and families we are involved with.”
Volunteers: the jewels in the crown
“Our volunteers are truly the most inspiring group of people from all walks of life”, explains Shelley. “We are a busy service – last year (2024) we received 151 referrals and supported over 111 families in Bradford, and we were able to provide this support thanks to our volunteers”.
“They are passionate and are all united by a commitment to be there for women and for no one to be alone when they give birth”.
You can learn more about the impact of the Bradford Doulas service by watching Nike and Joshua’s story:
You can also hear heartfelt stories from families and volunteers about the positive impact Bradford Doulas has on people’s lives here:
View more inequalities stories below or on our Reducing Inequalities Alliance webpage. To write a blog about inequalities work you’re involved in, please email ria@bradford.nhs.uk
More inequalities blogs
