It was friday afternoon when the call came in to The Baby Bank charity in Windsor.
‘I was getting ready to leave work when a health visitor called and said she had a mum who didn’t have enough formula to feed her baby,’ says Rebecca Mistry, the charity’s co-founder. ‘When I asked if she could wait until Monday, she said there was only enough powder to make up one more bottle.’
Rebecca set up The Baby Bank in 2015. Now demand is growing: in 2019 The Baby Bank charity helped 1,600 families, which grew to more than 3,000 in 2020. As we approach Christmas, they’ve had more than 5,000 requests this year for help. Yesterday, the The Princess of Wales visited Rebecca's baby bank, where we saw Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis join her in sifting through donated goods to pick out presents for those in need.
A baby bank is similar to a food bank, with families being referred by midwives, health visitors or doctors, and receiving donated items such as clothing, prams and milk. Rebecca says demand for formula has increased by 40-50% this year.
‘We’re getting lots of calls from desperate parents and demand is outstripping donations. The mental health toll on mothers is enormous,’ she says. One mother said she has been using her local baby bank since her husband lost his job and relies on it for formula ‘now that a tub costs almost £16’. Despite the vital work done by baby banks, Rebecca says they shouldn’t even exist. ‘We’re a wealthy country, there shouldn’t be any need for services like ours. But while there is, we’ll do everything we can to help.’
It was recently reported that baby banks across the UK are being forced to ration formula because of soaring demand from parents no longer able to afford it. Data shows the cost rose by 22% between March 2021 and April 2023, with the price of feeding a 10-week-old baby now close to £89 per month. The Scottish Government is currently working to introduce plans to help struggling families, but there are no such plans from Westminster.
For 35-year-old Teesha Thomas, the night after she visited her local baby bank was the first time she slept soundly in months. ‘I was pregnant with my third child and it was the first night in a long time I didn’t wake up worrying about how I was going to provide for my children,’ she says. Teesha’s son Myles is now eight months old (her two older children are 10 and 11); having always taken pride in working hard and never asking for help, a third pregnancy and the cost of living crisis caught her off-guard. ‘I felt like I was letting my kids down knowing I couldn’t afford the things they needed,’ she says. ‘I couldn’t tell them I didn’t have enough money for food and clothes.’
Teesha first heard of Little Village, a local baby bank in London, in February this year when she was at an antenatal appointment and her midwife referred her. ‘They treated me with dignity and respect, and helped me pick out everything I needed for my baby, which meant I didn’t need to go down to one meal a day. Getting this support released so much of my anxiety and stress about whether I was going to be able to provide for my family,’ she says.
Tina*, a single mother of three children under eight, was volunteering for the
single parent charity Gingerbread in north London when she first heard about Little Village. ‘I could refer mums from my group, but I also needed help myself,’ she says.
‘Although I work as an account manager at a local firm, the cost of rent and childcare in London is extortionate and I was struggling. I was given clothes and baby items. It helps financially, but it also felt like they cared.’
However, the number of requests Little Village receives for help every week exceeds its capacity, says Sophie Livingstone MBE, CEO of Little Village. They helped 25% more families by August of this year as the same time in 2022. And this year they have already provided 2,500 blankets and more than 6,120 coats to families. With Christmas a particularly busy period, the charity is doing all it can to meet demand.
‘Each day we hear about the impossible choices families are having to make, like watering down formula or rationing nappies,’ Sophie adds. ‘With high costs
for energy, housing, clothing and food, the pressure is mounting and too many families with young children are struggling to survive.’
Research by the charity Family Action recently revealed one in seven parents surveyed by them are unable to buy Christmas presents for their children this year, while one in five will go without heating to save money.
‘We’re also seeing more families who were doing OK and now, suddenly, they’re not,’ says Rebecca. ‘We get a lot of NHS workers needing help. I’ll often take a call from a midwife, asking for advice for one of her colleagues. It just doesn’t feel right that the people looking after us are in need themselves.’
Some food banks won’t stock formula because UNICEF guidelines caution against it, in case babies receive the wrong type for their age. Meanwhile, formula sales are governed by regulations supporting the World Health Organization’s promotion of breastfeeding guidelines, which encourage exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first six months. So, supermarkets are unable to put it on special offer or allow shoppers to use their loyalty points to buy it.
Rebecca says that worrying about how you’re going to pay your bills and keep your children clothed and fed, all the while under immense stress, is not conducive to easy breastfeeding. ‘Whenever we do a call out for formula, we’re torn apart by keyboard warriors, asking why mothers can’t just breastfeed,’ says Rebecca. ‘But it isn’t that simple. And anyway, I believe it’s better to have a fed baby than an unfed baby.’
Teesha adds, ‘I’ve heard of pregnant and new mums going down to one or two meals a day, which dries their milk up.’
Her little boy Myles is now thriving. ‘On my first visit to Little Village I took home a sheep teddy, which we named Baaaary, and Myles sleeps with him every night. I called my mum while I was there, in tears, because I was so grateful for everything they gave me, which helped me give my newborn the best start I could.’
If you can afford to give, baby banks are desperate for support. Many are based locally and you can find one near to you using the map on littlevillagehq.org
5 BABY BANKS TO HELP THIS CHRISTMAS
■ The Baby Bank, Windsor: thebabybank.org
■ Little Village HQ, a London based baby bank: littlevillagehq.org/ uk-baby-banks
■ Baby Bank Network Bristol: babybanknetwork.com
■ Baby Basics began in Sheffield, but has baby banks all over the UK: baby-basics.org.uk
■ Salford Baby Bank: salfordbabybank.co.uk