Born by One is here to help you find your village, as it takes a village to raise a child. Born by One is a matching platform that connects parents from nearby suburbs to form a community of support. To start, you set up an honest profile about you, your family and your circumstances. They match you to local parents you maybe interested in meeting. You organise a play date via their chat feature. As your comfort level grows, begin to expand your village of support. From casual play dates to reciprocal childcare, carpooling or a full community co-op, it’s all possible with Born by One! We spoke to Born by One founder Alice Duff to find out more about their amazing new initiative.
Born by One isn’t my first business I’ve started. However, I do believe that it will be the most successful. For you see it was born out of the love I have for my child and my sincere desire to give him a community he can always rely on and call upon in good times and times of trouble.
During my research, I found that a lot of parents were in my shoes in regards to parenting while living in an area without support, while balancing parenthood and working full time. If we’re all struggling, why are we not sharing the load?
Born by One is a community of like-minded parents who are looking to form a village around their children where one may not exist. This business is more of a passion project than a business. My mother’s experience inspired it.
In 1997 my mum and I moved to America from the war torn country of Liberia. Without her and the women who supported her, I would not be the person I am. Even today I’m always watching my back because I never know who’s watching and may get word back to my mother if I misbehave.
I was officially diagnosed with antenatal depression and anxiety in the first trimester of my pregnancy. I went from a self-confident, if not a little loud, woman to barely being able to get out of bed.
The hardest part of this project was the start. I started this project when I found out I was pregnant with my first son. Moving to Australia, a place where I have no friends or family, except my now husband, triggered a depression that worsened during pregnancy. I was officially diagnosed with antenatal depression and anxiety in the first trimester of my pregnancy. I went from a self-confident, if not a little loud, woman to barely being able to get out of bed. I lost sleep, gained a lot of weight, more than the average amount, and my confidence took a massive beating. Between bouts of fog, I thought that there is no way I’m the only person struggling with the idea of bringing a child into an area where they have no family or friends support. Although I had the idea, it took over a year to go from idea to execution. When I had the energy, confidence and after a great therapy session I would work feverishly on getting the project off the ground until my demons came knocking and I was back in the fog of anxiety, depression, self-doubt and fear.
