MAMA Academy partner with ARC

MAMA Academy is pleased to announce a new partnership with ARC, to help support parents faced with difficult decisions in their pregnancy.

ARC is the only national charity helping parents and professionals through antenatal screening and its consequences.

In the UK approximately 800,000 women become pregnant every year and every one of these women will be offered some form of screening test, such as an ultrasound scan and/or a blood test. As a result more than 40,000 women will be told there is a risk that their baby may not be developing as expected. This causes a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty for expectant parents and their families.

ARC offers non-directive individualised information and support to parents who are making decisions around antenatal testing and help parents cope with the uncertainty and anxiety which is an inevitable part of the testing process. Long term support is given to parents whatever decision is made about the future of their pregnancy through a national helpline, coordinated network of volunteer parent contacts, password-protected internet support forums, face-to-face meetings, regular newsletters and a range of publications for parents and their families.

ARC also provide specialised training for healthcare professionals so that they can respond both practically and emotionally to parents’ needs and represent the views of ARC parents to Parliament, the media and decision makers.

For more information on ARC please visit their site here: http://www.arc-uk.org/