Nataliia (left) has been supported by Little Village baby banks. Sophie Livingstone (right) is the charity's CEO and warns demand is increasing again this winter.

Three years ago, Nataliia fled the war in Ukraine with her then-10-year-old son and made her way to the UK.

It was an immensely fraught and difficult time for their family, as Nataliia’s husband, a soldier, stayed behind to fight the invading Russian forces.

Nataliia spent week after week riddled with worry, compounded by not being able to communicate with her husband for days at a time.

“We had some weeks where I couldn’t hear from him because he was in a dangerous zone and couldn’t use the phone or speak with us,” she told HuffPost UK.

“When I was getting up, I was crying, and my son was crying in the evening when he went to sleep. It was very hard.”

After many months, she was finally reunited with her husband which was the ultimate “Christmas gift” for their family. Not long after, Nataliia became pregnant with their second child.

Her husband was trying to find work, but money was tight. At one of Nataliia’s antenatal appointments, a midwife told her about Little Village, a baby bank where she could access free essentials for her impending arrival – excellent quality second-hand clothes, blankets and even toys.

She was referred to the service and, a week after speaking to them, she received a parcel full of life-changing items for her and her newborn: “Some books, toys, some amazing things for my baby.” The stress of finding the money to afford the basics for her unborn child began to melt away.

Inside Little Village's baby bank in Camden

The cost of raising a child is constantly rising

Any parent will know that raising a child is expensive. But when you’ve fled your home and need to start from scratch – finding a new home, job, school for your child – the costs soon mount up.

What’s more, according to Money Helper, parents are likely to........

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