About Us
Providing essential starter packs to parents and their newborn babies in vulnerable circumstances. We support new families who are struggling due to a variety of reasons including financial hardship, housing issues, isolation, refugee status and domestic violence situations. We do not want any parent or newborn baby to be put at risk due to personal circumstances. We act as a safety net for those families.
Supporting New Families
Baby Basics Northampton provides essential starter packs to parents and their newborn babies in vulnerable circumstances, to ensure they have everything they need to give their little one the best start in life. We work with professional bodies across the county of Northamptonshire to identify the households in need of extra support.
Providing Essentials
We aim to ensure no baby born in the county is without a safe place to sleep – providing a Moses basket, as well as bedding, baby clothing, blankets and nappies. These are essentials, but for so many of the families we support these are classed as luxury. They must choose between eating, heating their home or being able to buy nappies for their baby. We also preserve the dignity and overall wellbeing of the mother ensuring she has the essentials she needs when she leaves hospital such as maternity pads, sanitary items, toiletries, and breast pads.
Who We Work With
Our referrers are NHS midwives and health visitors, social workers and other charitable organisations. We work alongside them to identify the households in need and get them the help they require to give their baby a good start in life. Our packs provide advice and further support for perinatal mental health and where to seek support with food and hygiene poverty after our pack is finished with.
We have a team of volunteers who work to sort, wash baby clothes, and pack the items beautifully into a Moses basket ready to send to the family. We act as a vital lifeline to the families at this critical time of life.
How It Started
When Baby Basics Northampton first started out in 2013 it was a group of four mums who came together in support of new parents, operating out of the garage of one of the mums’ homes. Since then the operation has since gone from a garage, to a cupboard in Grange Park church, to having its own well-established offices in Wollaston.
In the first financial year in 2013 (Sept-Aug), we had 72 referrals (a significant amount for a first year). This last year (Sept 23-Aug 24) we had 442 referrals. Since the charity was formed 2854 families have been supported (as of Jan 2025).
Urgent Help Needed
The current cost of living crisis is making it impossible for many families to make ends meet. Rising rents, energy bills and food costs are enough to topple most struggling households. When you add into the picture a newborn baby and all that comes with providing for a baby such as clothing, nappies, wipes, hygiene products – the financial impact is overwhelming. We have had to adapt quickly to meet this increase in demand, bringing on more volunteers and urgently seeking extra funding.
