Are you in Central, West, or South West London?
Whether you're a new parent needing some extra help or someone excited to join this impactful movement, we'd love to have you with us.
We're on the lookout for compassionate and nurturing individuals to become Gems and support families during this crucial time.
I started my career in 2009 as a maternity practitioner. I specialised in aftercare and supported new families with breastfeeding, sleep training and general postnatal care. However, a lot of my work was for those who could afford it - the top 1% i.e. the wealthy. And whilst I have built up a very successful career supporting those families, something was always niggling at the back of my mind. Postpartum care shouldn’t be a luxury - it should be an essential. The more I thought about it, the more unfair it seemed - people from all sorts of backgrounds have babies and yet the majority are left to muddle through the early days, weeks and months alone. And for some people, they do muddle through - they call on friends and family to help out as they get to grips with caring for a newborn and recover from births, regardless of whether they were straightforward or complex. But for others, those first few months post-birth can be incredibly tough. Recovery can stall. One person is left quite literally holding the baby whilst the other heads back to work (statuary paternity leave is only two weeks in the UK). They may not even have a partner to share the load with in the first place. They may not have any family to call on or friends who can help out. And they may not have the funds to buy in support from someone like me. Until now.
I sadly cannot be in two places at once - or multiple places as the case may be. It’s just a little beyond my power! But what I can do is call upon others who feel the same as me. You know who I mean - the people who rather than roll their eyes and tut when your baby is crying on the bus, smile at you instead. A smile that says ‘I remember those days and you are doing just fine’. The people who have it in their nature to care and support others because they believe it’s the right thing to do. This movement is about bringing all those people together and making them accessible to those who need that comfort and support.
All of those thoughts - the unfairness, the lack of support - sat with me for a long time before I realised that to make a change, you have to take action. And that’s exactly what I decided to do. Whilst I refer to myself as a modern family life coach, I also introduce myself as a philanthropist in the modern family community. Put simply, it has become my vision and my passion to make postpartum care and support accessible to everyone. Support for new parents has endless benefits and possibilities - when your world has been turned upside down by the arrival of a newborn, it’s easy for resentment to bubble away. But a supported household means that no one is left holding the baby, their stitches and their mental health together on their own. But there are many families out there who could benefit from accessible postpartum support. And I cannot do this alone.
The story behind the name has various strands, but it all started when early in my career, someone referred to me as ‘a gem.’ It was a wonderful compliment to receive and meant even more to me considering my full name is Whittney Jade. It stuck with me and as my vision for universal postpartum care began to form, the word ‘gem’ also came back to me. But whilst the Gems are wonderful, outstanding people who truly encapsulate the meaning of the word, it also stands for something else. Gentle Empowering Mindful Because that’s exactly what the Gems are: they are gentle people who wish to empower new parents but are mindful of their needs.
