Antenatal Academy, which runs courses at the Freedom Church, Great Barton, near Bury St Edmunds, wins Small Business Award

A company which runs antenatal education courses has scooped a regional business award.

Antenatal Academy, which runs courses at the Freedom Church, in Great Barton, near Bury St Edmunds, won the Customer Care category in The Small Business Awards (Suffolk) 2024.

The academy was founded in 2021 by Debbie Willis and Helen Fortes and provides group antenatal classes to help people achieve the birth they want, as well as providing practical knowledge for the first few weeks of parenthood.

The academy nominated was nominated by the public for the final.

Debbie said: "We are so pleased to win a prestigious award like this, and we were really shocked on the night of the awards as both Helen and I didn't expect to win.

“The Customer Care category had lots of great small businesses in there, so to win it really wasn't expected.

“Our aim is to build a community of parents and parents-to-be in Bury St Edmunds, sharing birth and parenting in a positive light where couples feel prepared for the huge transition in their lives.

“We'd like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all of those who voted for us and who share what we do with pregnant couples.

“We hope that this award helps us to support even more parents and parents-to-be in Suffolk, so we can put on more classes to help prepare folks for a positive birth and parenting journey."

Antenatal Academy classes have been running for two and a half years.

Helen Fortes is both a teacher and a birth and post-natal doula, providing emotional and practical support for families.

She is a fully trained three-step-rewind practitioner (to help couples with negative birth experiences) and birth educator, and is passionate about home birth and the rights of all women and birthing people.

She also helps Debbie facilitate the local pregnancy support group.

Debbie is an antenatal educator, birth coach, hypnobirthing practitioner and facilitator of the Bury St Edmunds Positive Birth Group.

She trained through natal hypnotherapy and has been supporting couples through group and private antenatal courses and birth coaching since 2012.

To find out more, visit: www.antenatalacademy.co.uk

Debbie added: “We are really passionate about helping new parents and parents-to-be.”