Edinburgh pregnancy charity in funding plea for baby equipment

Pregnancy Counselling & Care has seen an increase in demand recently.

An Edinburgh-based pregnancy charity has launched a fundraiser to help provide baby-related equipment to new parents amid the Covid-19 crisis.

Pregnancy Counselling & Care offers clothes and equipment for families in need with children up to school age, as well as baby packs and counselling for pregnancy-related issues such as fertility, miscarriage and still birth.

The charity has had to close its two shops, in Gorgie and Leith, because of the Covid-19 crisis.

PCCS Baby Boutique in Leith.

However it has seen an increase in referrals for its baby bank service of about 15 percent on last year, translating to one or two extra requests every week for baby equipment.

As these requests are urgent, for babies due to be born in the next few weeks, director of PCCS Juulia Karlstedt believes they are the result of recent changes in family situations, perhaps due to the lockdown.

The baby packs include a moses basket and blankets as well as clothes.

“Having a new baby in lockdown is going to be an anxious time anyway,” said charity Trustee Vicki Craik.

“There’s a lot of added anxiety about not being able to provide for your child, so the baby packs give some security and safety.”

The charity also offers equipment to parents leaving a situation of domestic abuse without all their belongings.

“We recently received a request for a newborn pack from one of our referring agencies for a woman who had just found out she was pregnant,” said Ms Karlstedt.

“The client’s due date was only 8 weeks away. Her financial situation combined with the need to self-isolate was causing additional concerns about how she would be able to get all the equipment she needed to take her baby home and look after them.

“Within just three days of the request coming in, we provided and coordinated the delivery of all the items she needed. This allowed her to focus on preparing for the baby’s arrival rather than worrying about how they would cope.”