Preparing Emotionally for Parenthood
Your emotional wellbeing matters just as much as your physical wellbeing. Whether you’re expecting your first baby, preparing to welcome another child or adjusting to life as a new parent, you don’t have to navigate the emotional challenges of parenthood alone.
Course Overview
“Preparing Emotionally for Parenthood” is a supportive, accessible online course designed to help expectant and new parents understand and navigate the emotional realities of pregnancy, birth and early parenthood. Developed with The PANDAS Foundation and supported by Aldi, this Now Baby course recognises that becoming a parent can bring a wide range of feelings, from joy and excitement to anxiety, uncertainty and overwhelm. Through six short, easy-to-follow chapters, it explores perinatal mental health, emotional resilience, preparing for birth, adjusting to life with a new baby and the importance of recognising when additional support may be needed.
Course Leaders
Sally Bunkham
PG Dip Management, ILM Cert, PTLLS, BA (Hons) Cultural and Historical Studies, is a communications and management professional with extensive experience in the charity sector, specialising in communications, media and perinatal mental health.
Sally joined the PANDAS Foundation in 2021, initially managing the charity’s social media channels. Her role has since grown considerably, and she has particularly enjoyed building and nurturing relationships with existing and new people and organisations who share PANDAS’ mission and values, including charities, experts and corporate sponsors.
Sally is a mum of two neurodivergent girls, born just one year apart. She has lived experience of perinatal mental illness and is passionate about raising awareness and helping to improve understanding of perinatal mental health.
Sally now co-leads the charity alongside its CEO, bringing together her experience in communications, relationship-building and charity leadership with her personal connection to perinatal mental health.
Laura Fletcher
Laura Fletcher, BSc (Hons) Psychology, PTLLS, TEFL, is a training and development professional with extensive experience in people management within the third and public sectors.
Laura helps to manage PANDAS Foundation’s UK-wide national services and has responsibility for managing and supporting the charity’s 160 volunteers nationwide. She also wrote and developed the PANDAS Foundation Antenatal Course, a psycho-educational online course supporting parents-to-be with their perinatal mental health throughout pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
Laura now facilitates the Antenatal Course, alongside PANDAS’ other remote support services, and plays a key role in ensuring parents and carers can access consistent, compassionate and accessible support wherever they are in the UK.
Remember, you don’t have to do it alone!
What you will learn
The course offers practical tools, guidance and reassurance to help parents prioritise their emotional wellbeing, build supportive relationships and feel better equipped to navigate the challenges and changes that parenthood can bring. It also highlights the support available through PANDAS Foundation and wider healthcare services, reinforcing an important message: you don’t need a diagnosis to ask for help, and you don’t have to navigate parenthood alone.
Further Information
You can find information about the charity, PANDAS here https://pandasfoundation.org.uk/ and the partnership with Aldi here https://pandasfoundation.org.uk/aldi/
For more information about perinatal mental health please head to https://pandasfoundation.org.uk/what-is-pnd/ where you will find information about a range of different conditions and symptoms
