When Justyna discovered she was pregnant with twins in her mid-forties, “everything was just a major whirlwind.”

“I just had convinced myself that it wasn't going to be possible for me anymore and... here I was, pregnant and just not prepared for it at all.”

In one of her first hospital appointments, a social worker recommended Justyna refer herself to The Babes Project, but she remembers thinking, “I don't know if I'm crisis enough for this, is it okay for me to be reaching out to these people?”

“I think it was Emma that was the first person that I spoke to on the phone and she was just incredible. When I told her my life story and my background, what was going on for me at the time… she was so lovely and supporting and absolutely very inclusive”.

Justyna found her greatest support in the community that The Babes Project formed for her; knowing, “it's okay if you just come here and cry. It's okay if you just come here and have a cup of tea. It felt like I was just less alone.”

“Nothing can prepare you for having a child. It was meant to be this beautiful, amazing experience but it can be pretty dark.” 

In the midst of new motherhood’s challenges, Justyna says coming to The Babes Project was a “safe place I could go to and know that there were no expectations of how I looked and what I did. It just felt like this sense of real calm and security.”

“I felt nurtured, which is funny because you know you're nurturing babies but who's nurturing you?”

Without The Babes Project, “it would have been a very sad, lonely, isolating time. Having people here that I could come and connect with made a huge difference because I don't know how I would've gone without it.” 

Babes is here to stand by women as they navigate darker times. Will you stand by them too? Help us Save Babes Frankston.

All images by Miranda Mayle Photography.