Great Big Baby Shower launches to meet demand for newborn essentials 

Every NHS maternity unit in London is now supplied with emergency newborn packs thanks to Little Village. These vital packs, containing essentials such as nappies, sleepsuits, baby grows, muslins, and maternity pads, are being supplied to 25 hospitals across 23 boroughs from our baby banks – ensuring no parent welcomes a baby without precious essentials. 

The emergency packs are part of an initiative working with all the maternity units in London, which this year alone will distribute over 700 packs to parents in need, a 37% increase on 2024, when more than 500 were delivered*.

In 2024, London saw 104,252 live births, according to the Office for National Statistics. With the capital’s child poverty rate standing at 35%, this means that an estimated 36,488 babies were born into poverty last year, highlighting the urgent need for emergency support services such as Little Village’s newborn packs.

A recent survey of midwives who refer families to Little Village revealed that 72% said the packs helped them build trust with vulnerable families and over half (55%) said they provided items the hospital could not source elsewhere.

​A third of the children supported by our network of baby banks are under six months old. While some families only need a one-off bundle, others return for ongoing support – with nearly 40% of families in 2024 referred more than once. Last year we gave out a total of 408,042 individual items for babies and children under five across London.

A mum supported by Little Village said:

“When I had my baby I didn’t have anything. I went into the hospital with nothing. Support from Little Village saved me a fortune. I wouldn’t have been able to provide if I had to buy those things with my own money.”

Chief Executive Sophie Livingstone MBE said:

“Too many mums are bringing babies into the world with nothing – no clothes, no nappies, no support. Our maternity packs are small but powerful acts of care, offering immediate relief and dignity when it’s needed most. The Great Big Baby Shower is London’s chance to stand alongside families under pressure – showing solidarity and the belief that every baby deserves the best start in life.”

Parents who receive support from Little Village are facing many challenges, including homelessness, domestic abuse, relationship breakdowns, debt, insecure housing, low income, or being refugees or asylum seekers.

Little Village estimates that one of their emergency newborn bundles would cost a new parent approximately £96.28, whereas a standard newborn bundle supplying new parents with lots of essentials their baby needs in their first few months would cost £200 on average – a huge burden on already stretched family resources.

Midwife Hannah Foster said:

“These packs not only ease the burden on mums but also build trust and hope at a time when they need it most. They provide essential items that we often can’t source ourselves, offering immediate relief for families who really need urgent support.”

How to help

Find out how to drop your donations off at one of our baby bank hubs in Camden, Tooting, Brent and Wandsworth. Items most needed include:

• Pre-loved (excellent condition): baby grows, slings, muslins, baby baths, buggies, cots, and feeding equipment
• New (unopened): nappies, wipes, baby toiletries, breast pads

For those who don’t have baby things to donate, you can still support by donating £10 to deliver a big bundle to a family. As part of the Big Give, all donations made between 3-17 June will be doubled.

Donate here: donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05WS0000028AfNYAU

* The Fusion21 Foundation funded Little Village’s pilot project in 2024. The Foundation was set up in 2015 as a registered charity, to help build brighter futures for the communities that Fusion21 operates in. Since its inception in 2015, the Foundation has given over £3 million in grants and has committed £2 million in social investment. The Foundation has three areas of focus: Employment and Skills; Health and Wellbeing; Financial Inclusion and Resilience.