Purposes of Forging Families
Forging Families purpose is to support and promote health and wellbeing for Sheffield families during the perinatal period and educate families and the community on key maternity areas and services. Our purpose is the advancement of maternity health and wellbeing for the whole family, covering pre-conception, pregnancy, birth and the first year. We will work in collab
oration with Sheffield Maternity Services Liaison Committee in getting a clear service user voice to help make changes in the maternity services of Sheffield. We will be supporting families in Sheffield in the perinatal period, acting upon the feedback given to offer support that is needed and will be used. We will be a key voice in understanding changing needs and acknowledging the different needs of those within our local communities. We will be advancing education to families and also the community on key maternity issues with a leading focus on perinatal mental health. What does your organisation do to achieve its purpose? We are a stepping-stone between Sheffield families and Sheffield maternity services, not only advising health care professionals on how to improve their services but also providing a voice for parents and giving information and support to Sheffield families. We work with Sheffield NHS, Sheffield Public Health and Sheffield CCG to improve maternity services using information from service users. We gather this information via regular detailed surveys providing feedback from thousands of local families, committee meetings (Sheffield MSLC), an extremely active social media presence and face-to-face meetings with groups of families. We act as an advocate for Sheffield families, and our work is highly respected by the NHS. An example of this is the Perinatal Mental Pathway recently created by Sheffield Public Health, where we provided significant influence. Forging Families has also written a section "for mums, by mums" for Sheffield's Red Book, given to all mothers on the birth of their baby. We are addressing essential educational needs for families around perinatal mental health issues and other key areas of maternity. We support families through the perinatal period (pre-conception, pregnancy during and after birth) by providing peer support, information leaflets, online resources, videos showing experiences of families during this time and giving their advice on how to cope. We plan to produce a video and app signposting families on available help with Sheffield maternity services if professional help is needed. How is your organisation beneficial? Our research has shown the vast struggles families face during the perinatal period, particularly with parental mental health. Forging Families provides support to, a voice for and protection of Sheffield families in this time. Our previous work has shown the invaluable benefit of letting families know they are not alone in their struggles, by shared experiences, advice and information. We have received countless feedback from parents thanking us for helping them, lessening their isolation and giving them hope.
