Hi, I am Evelien
“It’s baffling that the majority of the workforce are parents, but we fail to run organisations that actually work for parents.”
My background is in journalism and communication strategy.
Nearly 10 years ago, I wrote an eye-opening article about the birth of my son. To me, this particular piece highlighted several issues that since have been the driving factor behind my work.
The article in question focused on dealing with a difficult birth and coming to terms with it. But what it highlighted was the enormous pressure society puts on parents - mums in particular - and how we approach parenthood in a very polarising (and binary) way.
It unraveled a huge fascination in me on all things birth. I had unlocked a new niche for myself as a freelance journalist, which ended up uncovering injustice in our maternity systems, our neglect for (maternal) mental health and the taboos that surround modern parenting.
My writing led me to advocacy work, the cherry on the cake being my roles as Campaigns & Communications Lead and Interim CEO for Make Birth Better - a UK-based organisation supporting both parents and professionals impacted by birth trauma.
In the last 10 years I have spoken to numerous parents and written down their stories about everything that comes with being - or longing to be - a parent: from infertility struggles to donor conception, from severe morning sickness to miscarriage, from home birth to hospital birth, from Postnatal PTSD to returning to work.
My articles have been published in parenting magazines, midwifery magazines and national newspapers in the Netherlands.
These stories have been the fuel of my advocacy work. They have shaped my work with Make Birth Better supporting tens of thousands of parents, working to improve their experiences at all different stages of parenthood. These stories were the framework of several UK-wide maternity campaigns I was in charge of, driving change in maternity policy and practices. They laid the foundation of the first birth trauma training programme in the UK, upskilling over 4000 maternity professionals annually.
Above all, these stories have given me a great understanding of what parents need and what is needed to support them better.
It’s baffling that the majority of the workforce are parents, but we fail to run organisations that actually work for parents. Research shows 92% of parents struggle with combining work and family, only 1 in 3 companies have specific policies for parents and over half of employers (56%) do not have clarity on laws around parental leave and rights.
It’s high time we all get parent proof. Because parents are everywhere. Let’s make parenthood work.
Evelien Docherty,
Founder of Parent Proof
What clients say
“Evelien brings years of experience into Parent Proof. In the years we worked together at Make Birth Better, she led the way in providing evidence-based support to parents who had been through distressing experiences during pregnancy, birth or the years after.
— Nikki Wilson
CEO at Maternal Mental Health Alliance & Co-founder of Make Birth Better
“Evelien has a deep understanding of the challenges modern parents face. She knows how to break big problems down and come up with tangible solutions that not only represent individual needs, but actually work for all.”
— Dr Emma Svanberg
Award-winning Clinical Psychologist, author of Parenting for Humans & Co-founder of Make Birth Better