Supporting parents when they need it most

Birth companions offer emotional and practical support to women and birthing people in Glasgow who need extra care during pregnancy and childbirth. The support our volunteers provide helps improve birth outcomes and experiences for people facing inequalities.

When you join Amma, you’re joining a compassionate community making a tangible impact on families. No previous birth experience is required — we’ll train and support you every step of the way.

Next application deadline: 20 November 2025

About the role

You’ll provide personalised support to families from their third trimester until birth, which may include:

  • Accompanying mothers to antenatal appointments
  • Helping create personalised birth plans
  • Providing emotional and hands-on support during labour and birth (including inductions and Caesarean births)
  • Offering a calm, reassuring presence and emotional support throughout the pregnancy/birth experience
  • Advocating for birth rights and choices
  • Supporting infant feeding immediately after birth
  • Visiting families after birth to say goodbye
  • Keeping simple but thorough records in our client database

You’ll work in small teams with other volunteers and Amma’s Perinatal Team Leaders. 

Is this role right for you?

We welcome volunteers from all walks of life. No birth experience is needed, all expenses are covered, and comprehensive training and ongoing support are provided. Before applying, please consider the following role requirements:

  • Flexibility & reliability - Being on-call from week 37 of pregnancy means being ready to go to the hospital day or night when labour starts. Attending a birth can take 8+ hours.
  • Time commitment - You'll be required to attend approximately 50 hours of in-person training and complete 20 hours of online training, plus supporting a minimum of three clients per year for at least one year.
  • Emotional resilience - Supporting clients with trauma histories and witnessing systemic inequalities can be challenging. Supervision and team support are provided.
  • Location - You must live within or be able to easily commute to Glasgow hospitals.

Recruitment & training dates

We recruit and train new birth companions twice per year. Here are the key dates for the January 2026 cohort:

  • Application deadline: 20 November 2025
  • Interviews: 17 November–11 December 2025
  • Recruitment finalised/all candidates notified: 12 December 2025
  • Online training: Mid-December 2025–March 2026
  • In-person sessions in Glasgow city centre (all mandatory): January 16, 17, 20, 27, 30, 31 / February 3, 10, 24 / March 3, 10, 17, 24, 30

View full training schedule in application form.

Frequently asked questions

Who can volunteer as a birth companion?

Our volunteers come from all walks, stages and ages of life, which is what makes the team so great! We ask that you:

  • Can speak, read, and write English to a good standard
  • Live within or can easily commute to Glasgow hospitals
  • Have time to dedicate to being on-call and attending births
  • Are punctual, reliable, and work well in teams
  • Are compassionate and committed to social justice, anti-racism, and inclusion
  • Are comfortable supporting individuals with extensive trauma histories (please consider your own wellbeing if currently healing from trauma)
  • Can attend all training sessions
  • Agree to a PVG check (PVG stands for Protecting Vulnerable Groups)
  • Can commit to one year of volunteering

We especially encourage multilingual volunteers and those with lived experience of migration to apply. We also welcome those with an interest in supporting infant feeding. 

We are inclusive of all women (cis and trans). We welcome non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming people who share or have shared lived experiences of women’s issues and are comfortable in a space that centres women.

From week 37 of pregnancy, you need to be ready to “drop everything” and go to the hospital when the parent you’re supporting goes into labour — day or night.

However, you won’t be on-call continuously for five weeks straight. We create an on-call rota based on volunteer availability, and you’ll share this responsibility with your team.

Attending a birth can take eight hours or more, so flexibility is essential.

Our training explores different ways of learning and promotes discussion and connection. Most volunteers finish feeling supported and excited to enter the vital field of birth work.

Topics include:

  • Providing trauma-informed care
  • Boundaries and confidentiality
  • The experiences of our client group
  • Safeguarding, allyship, and privilege
  • Birth experiences and interventions
  • Supporting survivors in the birth space
  • Supporting active birth and oxytocin
  • Introduction to infant feeding
  • Supporting the postpartum parent
  • Advocacy
  • Infant first aid
  • Food hygiene

Trainee volunteers are also expected to shadow our staff team of Perinatal Team Leaders who are actively supporting families.

All volunteers are provided ongoing training opportunities to support you in your role.

No. We never want our volunteers to be out of pocket!

We cover:

  • Travel expenses for training and volunteering (we simply ask that you try to take the least expensive public transport available). If you live outside of Glasgow, please discuss with our Volunteer Manager, Jenny Block.
  • Computer and/or internet access if you don’t have these at home. This ensures you can complete online training and update your client notes.
  • If you’re a refugee, in the asylum system, or have no recourse to public funds and have no access to childcare, we can reimburse childcare costs during training but not when you are volunteering.
  • An Amma phone for each active volunteer. This means you don’t incur mobile expenses and it protects your privacy and boundaries when working with families.

We’re committed to supporting volunteers with disabilities and can accommodate different learning needs during training.

However, please note: This role involves physically demanding duties including standing for long periods, providing physical support to labouring parents (weight bearing), and potentially navigating stairs or cramped spaces. Hospital environments can also present sensory challenges.

Birth companions may also need to:

  • Navigate stairs – some homes are only accessible by stairs
  • Work in cramped spaces – some clients live in cramped accommodation (e.g., hotel rooms)
  • Manage varied home environments – volunteering in homes can present sensory challenges including household noise, odours, visual stimuli, and variable lighting and room temperature
  • Travel across Greater Glasgow to reach clients’ homes

Before applying, we recommend contacting our Volunteer Manager, Jenny Block (jenny@ammabirthcompanions.org), to discuss your specific needs.

Supporting parents in complex situations is deeply rewarding, but it can also be emotionally challenging. We provide:

  • Ongoing support from an experienced mentor
  • Team-based approach
  • Access to supervision with a mental health professional as needed
  • Regular opportunities to connect with other volunteers
  • A dedicated volunteer manager

Ready to join us?

Applications are open on a rolling basis, so please apply even if we aren’t actively recruiting. We’ll reach out to you during the next recruitment phase.

Next application deadline: 20 November 2025

Apply now


If you are interested in volunteering with us but have limited availability, please consider our other flexible volunteer roles like Parent Supporter, Group Supporter and Driver.

Have questions? Contact our Volunteer Manager, Jenny Block: jenny@ammabirthcompanions.org