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Our work

Six strategic directions — from direct support for women and families to training practitioners, research and social change.

Our strategic directions

Support for women and families

Support for women and families

We develop accessible information, psychological, emotional and practical support during pregnancy, birth preparation, postnatal recovery and the adjustment to motherhood.

Our priorities

  • Educational programmes for pregnant women and families
  • Individual consultations and support groups
  • Psychoeducation on psychological wellbeing and preventing trauma
  • Support after a difficult or subjectively traumatic birth
  • Information on rights, informed consent and where to get help
  • Peer-support communities
  • Referral to the right specialists and services

We want a woman to be able to get support before a crisis, in difficult circumstances, and as she recovers.

Education and professional development

Education and professional development

We create learning opportunities for every practitioner who works with women in pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period — psychologists, psychotherapists, doulas, midwives, doctors, breastfeeding counsellors, postnatal-recovery specialists, social workers, educators and other helping professions.

Core topics

  • Principles of a trauma-sensitive approach
  • Psychological safety and stabilisation
  • Ethical communication and informed consent
  • Respect for personal boundaries and a woman's agency
  • Support in situations of high vulnerability
  • Support after loss and difficult experience
  • Professional boundaries, responsibility and interdisciplinary work
  • Preventing re-traumatisation

We combine theory with case studies, exercises, reflection and protocols that can be used in everyday practice.

Professional and psychological support for practitioners

Professional and psychological support for practitioners

We build an environment in which practitioners can get support, discuss difficult cases, improve their practice and restore their own resources.

Our priorities

  • Supervision and peer-consultation meetings
  • Professional support groups
  • Preventing professional burnout
  • Psychoeducation on secondary traumatic stress and vicarious trauma
  • Reviewing difficult professional situations
  • Support after critical incidents
  • A culture of asking for help

We want professional support to become an ordinary, accessible practice for people who work with women at vulnerable times.

Standards of trauma-sensitive communication and care

Standards of trauma-sensitive communication and care

We develop and share practical recommendations, ethical principles and protocols that help create a safe environment for women.

Core tasks

  • Principles of trauma-sensitive communication
  • Recommendations on information, consent and refusal
  • Protocols for situations of heightened vulnerability
  • A culture of respect for personal boundaries
  • Methodological materials for practitioners and organisations
  • Ethical principles of interdisciplinary cooperation

We see the quality of communication and care as essential parts of psychological safety.

Research, analysis and sharing knowledge

Research, analysis and sharing knowledge

We help build a Ukrainian evidence base on psychological safety, traumatic birth experience, the quality of support and practitioners' professional needs.

Our tasks

  • Studying women's experience
  • Researching risk and protective factors for psychological trauma
  • Analysing the accessibility and quality of support
  • Studying practitioners' needs and workload
  • Preparing analysis and recommendations
  • Sharing research findings
  • Cooperating with research and educational institutions

We want decisions about supporting women to rest on scientific evidence, professional experience and the voices of women themselves.

Advocacy, partnerships and social change

Advocacy, partnerships and social change

We bring together civic organisations, professional communities, educational institutions, researchers and representatives of public bodies around a culture of trauma-sensitive support.

Our priorities

  • Advocating for women's rights and needs
  • Promoting the principles of dignified treatment
  • Spreading trauma-sensitive practice
  • Developing interdisciplinary partnerships
  • Taking part in public consultations and professional discussion
  • Helping introduce standards of ethical communication and support
  • Cooperation between civic initiatives, professional communities and institutions

We want respect for women, their psychological safety and access to support to inform the decisions of organisations, professional practice and public policy.

The change we work for

  • For women

    More accessible support, respect for their decisions, a sense of safety, and help that fits their own needs.

  • For families

    More knowledge, practical resources and ways to support a woman through pregnancy, birth and postnatal recovery.

  • For practitioners

    Good education, practical tools, supervision, professional communities and conditions for sustainable growth.

  • For organisations

    Clear principles of ethical interaction, trauma-sensitive practice, team training and an internal culture of care.

  • For society

    A culture in which a woman's dignity, psychological safety and support are recognised as a shared responsibility.

Our strategic outlook

We aim to develop the Association as a resilient interdisciplinary civic platform combining support for women, professional education, a culture of supervision, methodological work, research and advocacy.

In the longer term this means educational programmes, a knowledge library, a network of practitioners, a system of professional support, practical communication standards and partnership initiatives across the regions of Ukraine.

Our long-term goal is for trauma-sensitive support to become an accessible, consistent and recognisable practice wherever a woman receives help during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period.

Five programmes

The Association's projects are organised in five connected programmes.

All programmes