My Expert Midwife range

My Expert Midwife

Pregnancy skincare brand My Expert Midwife has secured seven-figure venture capital backing to take the business into new channels and ramp up NPD.

Pembroke VCT led a £2m fundraising round, putting in £1.5m alongside existing shareholders and angel investors.

The brand’s portfolio of 19 specialist products is made using natural ingredients and designed to help women prepare and recover during pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.

At present, the range is available online and in retailers such as Boots, John Lewis, Ocado, JoJo Maman Bébé and Next.

The investment would help scale the business through additions to its range and expansion of distribution points in the UK and Ireland, as well as in new overseas territories, the company said.

Registered midwife Lesley Gilchrist and massage specialist Claire Charlton co-founded My Expert Midwife in 2017, setting out to tackle taboos around pregnancy and childbirth for new and expectant mums.

Gilchrist said the driving vision of the business was to help all parents-to-be on their journey to parenthood, “every step of the way, from preconception, through pregnancy and birth, to recovery and caring for their new baby”.

“We are delighted that our new partnership with Pembroke will help us to springboard those plans and help more parents-to-be than ever before,” she added.

Pembroke investment director Fred Ursell said: “This is a sector with huge potential, and we are looking forward to helping the team explore new opportunities for the My Expert Midwife brand in future.”

Established in 2013 and managed by Pembroke Investment Managers, Pembroke VCT backs founders at growth stage companies across a number of sectors, including food & beverage and hospitality. Its past investments included Plenish and Pasta Evangelists, and the firm currently backs Rubies in the Rubble.