'Catastrophic' impact of the pandemic on young families sees huge numbers at local baby banks
New stats show more Staffordshire and Cheshire families need weekly support
New research has highlighted the extent that young parents across Staffordshire and Cheshire are having to rely on charities and support organisations for essential items.
Figures show that 48% of parents with children aged three or younger have had to go to local baby banks for essential supplies at least once since the start of the pandemic.
59% of parents identified nappies as the product they struggled to get hold of most due to lack of supply in stores.
The research from Pampers shows that 18% of parents with young children have had to go on a weekly basis in order to get the supplies they need for their children, whilst 7% have had to go daily.
Nearly a third of parents said they felt embarrassed to have to go to find help at a baby bank, with over a quarter saying they felt like they have failed as parents.
What's it like at baby banks in Staffordshire?
Stephanie Talbot is the CEO of the Alice Charity in Newcastle under Lyme. They look after the most vulnerable and disadvantaged families across the communities in and around Newcastle and Stoke on Trent. She said:
"During COVID-19 and since then, even as lockdown restrictions are eased, we've seen the impact of COVID-19 have a catastrophic impact on parents of young children, and including babies.
"The projects that we currently run that support this group of marvellous people are our food bank, which is called People's Pantry. And we've run a project called 'Bump and Beyond' - which provides secondhand baby items to new families. We've seen demand across both these groups increase massively during this time. But what we've seen is not only an increase in demand, but also a change in the type of demand.
"Our People's Pantry has seen a massive increase in requests for support with baby formula, with nappies and baby toiletries - and we've seen from our home visits as we start to revisit local families after lockdown restrictions eased that families are having to use disposable nappies more than once, are watering down formula because they can't afford to keep your place in it - it's an absolutely shocking situation and really, really sad.
"We worry for the health and the future of these children who are having to be fed a watered down formula who are not having the fresh food and fruit that they should be having."
Stephanie added: "In our demand for second-hand equipment, we've seen a huge increase there because a lot of the channels that families would access baby equipment's have not been available to them. A lot of families access, low cost, second-hand, good quality baby items, from places like charity shops and the discount stores a lot of which have been closed during lockdown. People haven't been able to sell things on Facebook and go and collect them because of restrictions in movement, so all those things have compounded to make life even more difficult."
The latest findings also highlight the mental health implications on families seeking support. Statistics include 40% who have felt lonely raising their children with 17% suffering from post-natal depression.
Stephanie said: "The mental impact on the parents of these children is huge as a parent, as a new parents especially, you just want the best for your children - and not being able to provide everything that they need is a real worry and makes you feel like you're failing as a parent, when absolutely you're not actually doing a great job do the best that you possibly can.
"Let's hope as we move out of COVID and move towards more more freedom, that this sort of that these families are remembered and are supported and we certainly welcome anybody that's struggling to provide for their little one. Whether they need help with nappies, whether they need help with baby formula with baby equipment, please please get in touch with us. Because that's exactly what we're here for."
If you or a loved one is struggling you can contact the Alice Charity through their website here: https://alicecharity.com/contact-us/
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