4M is a unique peer-led programme led by Black migrant women. We train women living with HIV across the UK as Mentor Mothers to provide psycho-social support to peers in their pregnancy journey and beyond.
It is now entirely possible that, with the right care, respect and support, women living with HIV can have babies born HIV-free through normal vaginal delivery.
As a result of our work, Mentor Mother peer support is now promoted as good practice in the British HIV Association National Pregnancy Guidelines.
We also have international members – see more on the ‘About‘ tab.
At 4M Net, we are committed to providing services that complement those provided by Health and social care services.
We do this by delivering support and information that is tailored to enabling and improving the good Quality of life and mental wellbeing as well as the personal development of women living with HIV.
If you are a woman living with HIV and are looking for support, we provide the following services:
These Include:
These cover a range of topics around treatment, well-being and maintaining a good Quality Of Life. For details on upcoming webinars, visit this page.
Our trained Mentor Mothers are happy to provide 1-2-1 support to suit in a variety of ways, including phone, WhatsApp messaging and face-to-face where possible.
Also known as Date Nights, we are a safe and structured space where we provide group support for each other. Part of the sessions are facilitated by a qualified psychologist.
In order to enable access to our workshops, webinars and one-to-one support, supported by the National Data Bank, and whenever possible, we provide data bundles for women with low or no recourse to public funds.
Where women living with HIV and Mentor Mothers can connect, network and socialise.
We are also happy to engage and work with researchers. Please see our Terms of Engagement when collaborating with research/researchers, here.
At 4M, we are working to shift the narrative. Instead of a top-down, bio-medical focus on ‘elimination of Mother to Child Transmission’ (eMTCT), we work to ‘ensure our Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (eSRHR) throughout our lives’.
We are an entirely peer-run organisation of women living with HIV. Led by Black women from migrant and refugee backgrounds, our approach seeks to ensure that our voices and priorities are heard in all discussions about issues affecting women living with HIV pre, during and beyond the pregnancy journey.
In all our work, 4M considers the different needs and priorities of women living with HIV in all our diversity. All women living with HIV are welcomed, and all experiences are respected. Our approach is person-centred, holistic and collaborative, addressing the intersectional issues affecting our lives as women living with HIV.
Our work is led by, shaped by, and includes women living with HIV around the UK and internationally.
4MNet: ensuring our sexual and reproductive rights during pregnancy and beyond, for life.
In all this, we provide an enabling environment for women who face multiple disadvantages to find their individual voice and be visible within a collective. This is important as HIV, despite all the scientific advances, continues to be highly stigmatised, disempowering individuals from participation or achieving their human rights. The women in our network are disproportionately affected and represent a diversity of identities. Many are from migrant backgrounds including the Caribbean, and East, Southern, and West African countries.
4MNet Re-imagining the Future’ was a 9‑month creative project throughout which we used virtual peer sessions to reflect, analyse and share our ideas, photos and writing.
We are grateful to our current funders, MAC Aids Fund and Fast Track Communities of Practice. We are also grateful for past support from ViiV Healthcare, MIND, the National Lottery and African Health Policy Network (AHPN).
We set up 4MNet to meet our priority of providing ourselves and our peers with psycho-social, perinatal support, as an essential part of our sexual and reproductive health and rights. This translates into positive outcomes for our babies, extended family and communities.
Core funding especially is an ongoing challenge for small women's rights organisations like ours and your support will go a long way in diversifying our income and sustainability to enable us uphold our Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights throughout our life.
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