Dearbump’s Workplace Maternity Support Crowdfunds 6 Figures.

Emma Jarvis from the pregnancy subscription box, Dearbump, – has raised more than six figures through crowdfunding (to fund maternity support in the workplace).

Studies have shown that 90% of mothers who return to work after pregnancy ‘have no formal support programme.’ Dearbump (the revolutionary, award-winning subscription box service) is aiming to tackle this issue, by supporting expectant employees and new mothers through pregnancy, and through their return to work. This includes answering questions, giving advice and information, emotional support, gift deliveries, wellbeing checks, + more.

“The aim of Dearbump is to help pregnant women to feel more informed and supported. I believe that we can do so much more to support mums-to-be, and new mums,” said Emma.

Also, there’s a huge problem with retaining pregnant women in the workplace: more than 54,000 pregnant women leave employment annually in the UK, and corporations are realising that they can do so much more to help stem this loss of talent. “My aim is that Dearbump will become an integral part of the solution,” added Emma.

And clearly, she’s onto something: statistics show that a corporate programme like this is long overdue. Women make up 46% of the workforce in the UK, and an estimated 80-85% of those will become pregnant during their employment, with one in three finding it difficult or very difficult to come back to work after maternity leave. £1.65 2 billion is spent in the UK on replacement costs per year, and recruiting and retraining staff creates a significant loss for businesses.

“Studies have shown that the lack of support, and a poorly managed reintegration back into the workplace are responsible for women feeling unhappy at work, or leaving their job altogether,” said Emma.

Following her successful crowdfund, Emma from Liverpool has expanded the Dearbump team, by hiring a psychological wellbeing practitioner (who’ll provide expert support via messenger or WhatsApp). “We’ll send out an open-ended question to check in on the wellbeing of women. If there’s a response, and a conversation is required, our practitioner will get on the phone to help,” she said.

Launched in 2017, the idea for Dearbump came as a result of Emma’s own maternity experience. Despite having always considered herself ‘an incredibly ambitious person, who is dedicated to [her] career,’ she chose not to return to her R&D job, following her first pregnancy.

“It felt like the talk of development and promotions were put on hold as soon as I announced my pregnancy. The attitude seemed to be ‘now that you’re pregnant, you won’t care about your career as much,’ which couldn’t have been further from the truth,” said the former product research and development expert. “I decided not to go back,” she said. Instead, Emma studied for an MBA at the University of Liverpool, and she began to form the Dearbump idea.

Fast forward to now, and her business is booming, with a strong six-figure annual turnover, and 500+ monthly box deliveries.

Find out more here: https://www.dearbump.com