About us
Pregnancy Counselling & Care Scotland (PCCS) is a highly-regarded charity with a strong reputation.
We have clear and achievable goals, which instil confidence amongst our referring partners, our clients and our funders.
Our intention, as a charity, remains true to the founders’ vision – to provide care and support to people at a time they are most vulnerable and in need.
Our vision
Nobody is left alone to struggle with pregnancy, loss or early parenthood.
Our mission
To support families and individuals during pregnancy and early parenthood, or at times of loss, by providing practical and emotional support.
Our team
Our staff
Our volunteers
PCCS couldn’t deliver its services without the amazing support from our volunteer teams:
Board of Trustees: we have eight dedicated trustees who oversee the governance of the charity. They all live locally and come from a range of professional backgrounds.
Baby Bank volunteers: we have an ever-growing team of volunteers who help to sort our donations and make up baby packs. From dismantling prams to ninja bundling skills – there is nothing they can’t do!
Placement & volunteer counsellors: we have a team of placement counsellors who are in the process of gaining their counselling qualification, as well as a team of qualified volunteer counsellors. They are a vital part of the counselling service, helping us to keep service costs as low as possible, and in the process developing the next generation of expert counsellors.
Our story
PCCS has been providing emotional and practical support to families in Edinburgh for over 45 years.
This is our story, from establishment to the present day.
The charity was established as Lifeline (part of a UK-wide charity). The Edinburgh branch was founded by Jeanette Knight. It offered care and assistance to women during pregnancy and the early years. Lifelines provided a listening ear and practical support at a time when many women faced rejection, and even separation from their babies, for being pregnant outside of marriage.
The charity became an accredited counselling agency.
Many branches of Lifelines closed in England. As a result, we were set up as an independent Scottish Charity.
In addition to our counselling services, we ran two charity shops in Portobello and Gorgie.
We closed the Portobello charity shop.
We changed our name from Lifelines to Pregnancy Counselling and Care (Scotland), or PCCS, to better describe the direct support we offer.
We set up a second-hand charity shop for baby items, called the Baby Boutique, in Great Junction Street.
When COVID hit, we expanded the Baby Boutique to include the Baby Bank service. The need for this service during these difficult times was great.
We sustained our counselling and Baby Bank services throughout the pandemic, including periods of lockdown. Counselling was a vital source of support at a time of high stress and anxiety, particularly for pregnant women facing isolation from family and friends and limited support from partners in hospital. The Baby Bank was also crucial as it continued to provide families with essential items when many other services were forced to close.
In March 2020, regrettably we decided to close our Gorgie charity shop due to difficulties during the pandemic.
Due to ongoing COVID restrictions and limited space, we decided to close the Baby Boutique, the last retail part of the charity, and focus on the Baby Bank service. This service had the greatest need and social impact within the community.
We moved the Baby Bank service to larger premises in Granton, allowing us to store and manage more donations and recruit additional volunteers.
Following a flood in our Granton premises, we found our new home in the Gyle Shopping Centre. This site provides an ideal, easily accessible home for the Baby Bank and additional space for in-person counselling, complementing our rooms in the east of the city. As demand for both services continues to grow, we are continuing to increase the capacity of both services.
Our supporters
We’re grateful and proud to be supported by
What people say about PCCS
Our impact
Growing Hope
Our impact report
2025 - 2026
Some years mark a turning point, and 2025/26 was one of them for PCCS.
This year, we brought our Baby Bank and Specialist Perinatal Counselling Service together under one roof in our new home at Lochside View.
More than simply a change of address, this move has transformed our ability to support families, creating welcoming spaces, for clients, expanding our Baby Bank and providing room for our volunteers and services to grow.
