How do I get referred to a baby bank in the UK?

How do I find a baby bank and start a referral?

The Lullaby Trust's baby banks page, written with the Baby Bank Alliance, says there are around 400+ banks and that each one works slightly differently. The Alliance map is the national starting point; it may not list every bank.

1. 1
   Search the Baby Bank Alliance map by postcode Open Find a baby bank and search by postcode or place name. Note more than one pin if you live near a boundary — rules and stock are local.
2. 2
   Read that bank's own referral page The Alliance explains that some banks only take professional referrals (health visitor, midwife, social worker), some accept self-referrals, and many run a hybrid. The pin is not the policy.
3. 3
   If the bank is professional-only, ask a person who already sees you The Trust lists a care professional — midwife, health visitor, social or support worker. If you do not have one, find your local council from a postcode and ask about health visiting or family support. Little Village, as a London example, also accepts some community groups with an organisational email — it does not accept self-referrals or referrals for friends and family.
4. 4
   Say what you need in the next few weeks, not a full nursery catalogue Banks gift what has been donated. Little Village's public FAQ says cots and buggies are high demand, first-come, and they do not run a waiting list for the most popular items. Other banks will differ; the point is stock is not a warehouse promise.
5. 5
   Ask what arrives new The Trust says banks may be able to provide a new cot or Moses basket mattress depending on stock. Little Village states mattresses, bottle teats, breast pumps, nappies and toiletries are provided brand new. Do not assume a used mattress will be in the parcel.

Is it a self-referral or a health-visitor referral?

Both exist. The Baby Bank Alliance's What is a baby bank? page is the national wording:

• Some banks have families referred by professionals and prepare goods for those professionals to pass on.
• Other banks accept self-referrals from families.
• Many operate a hybrid and take both.

The Trust's 'I need support' block matches that: a professional referral or contact the nearest bank directly. There is no GOV.UK form that covers the country.

What do baby banks typically provide — and refuse?

The Trust's list of items banks can distribute includes clothing, nappies, bedding and infant sleeping bags, Moses baskets, cots and travel cots, prams and carriers, feeding equipment, toys and seasonal items. What you are actually offered depends on donations that week.

The same page says there are items banks will not accept or distribute because of safety concerns, such as second-hand car seats and used mattresses.

• Car seats. The Trust does not recommend using a second-hand car seat even if you know its history; wear can affect how it protects, and crash damage may be invisible. Banks often follow that line.
• Mattresses. The Trust advises a new mattress for each baby. It says research suggests using a second-hand mattress from outside the family home increases the risk of SIDS. Banks may pass on a new firm, flat, waterproof mattress if they have stock — that is a stock question, not a promise.
• Little Village's published exclusions (London example): no formula or baby food, no car seats, no maternity wear, no monitors, no sleeping pods such as Sleepyheads and DockATots, no white goods or nursery furniture.

A gifted item is not a MayTally safety verdict. The Trust still wants British Standard marks on sleep products (for example BS EN 716 for cots, BS EN 1466 for Moses baskets and carrycots) and says those marks are not a SIDS standard. No recall on file is not an all-clear.

What should I expect after a referral is sent?

Local. Little Village's public FAQ (one data point, not a national SLA) says it aims to deliver within four to six weeks, may split large kit into a later van, and contacts the family to confirm the address. Other banks do a one-hour shop appointment, a parcel via the health visitor, or a same-week emergency pack. Ask the bank you found on the map.

If that bank cannot help, the Alliance map and Little Village's own 'map of alternative baby banks' are the next pins — not a rewrite of a second-hand shopping hub.

I want to donate instead — does that use the same map?

Yes. The Trust and the Alliance both send donors to the same map, then to that bank's current needs list. Pre-loved items should be clean, complete and in good condition. Many banks have set drop-off days. Money donations are how some banks buy the items that have to be new (the Alliance names cot mattresses and nappies).

Is a baby-bank referral the same as buying second-hand kit?

No. This page is the referral route: who can ask, how postcodes map, and why mattresses and car seats are treated differently. It is not a checklist for marketplace shopping and it does not replace official recall lookups for a specific model.

In shortMap by postcode. Read that bank's referral rule. Professional-only banks need a midwife, health visitor or similar. Stock varies. Mattresses are often new because of Lullaby Trust advice. A referral is access to a local charity, not a specified parcel.