Privacy Notice

Who We Are

Alba Mums is a maternal support practice founded by Sofia Sculthorpe, providing birth and postnatal doula support, infant feeding support and maternal wellbeing services.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Alba Mums is the data controller responsible for the personal information described in this Privacy Notice.

If you have any questions about this notice or how your personal information is handled, you can contact:

Email: contact@albamums.co.uk

The Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with Alba Mums, I may collect personal information including:

  • Your name

  • Email address

  • Telephone number

  • Postal address (where relevant)

  • Emergency contact details

  • Appointment and booking information

  • Pregnancy, birth and infant feeding information that you choose to share

  • Relevant health information that you choose to disclose

  • Consultation notes

  • Payment information

  • Correspondence between us

I only collect information that is necessary to provide safe, appropriate and personalised support.

How Your Information Is Collected

Information may be collected when you:

  • complete a contact form on the website

  • book an appointment

  • complete questionnaires or consent forms

  • communicate by email or WhatsApp

  • attend consultations

  • provide feedback

Why Your Information Is Used

Your information is used to:

  • respond to your enquiries

  • arrange and manage appointments

  • provide the services you have requested

  • maintain appropriate client records

  • communicate with you during our work together

  • meet legal and professional obligations

  • improve the quality of the services provided

Alba Mums will never sell or rent your personal information.

Legal Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, personal information is processed using one or more of the following lawful bases:

  • Performance of a contract

  • Compliance with legal obligations

  • Legitimate interests

  • Consent, where required

Where health information or other special category data is processed, this is done in accordance with the additional conditions permitted under UK GDPR.

How Your Information Is Stored

Client information is stored securely using carefully selected service providers that support the operation of Alba Mums.

These currently include:

  • Google Workspace (business email, documents and secure storage)

  • Google Drive (client records)

  • Google Forms (questionnaires and feedback)

  • Squarespace (website hosting)

  • Acuity Scheduling by Squarespace (appointment booking)

  • Stripe (payment processing)

  • WhatsApp Business (client communication where appropriate)

Appropriate technical and organisational measures are in place to help protect your information from unauthorised access, loss or misuse.

Who Your Information May Be Shared With

Your information will only be shared where necessary and appropriate.

This may include:

  • trusted technology providers that support the operation of Alba Mums

  • healthcare professionals where you have requested this or provided your consent

  • safeguarding authorities where there is a legal or professional duty to share information

  • regulatory or legal authorities where disclosure is required by law

Personal information is never sold or shared for marketing purposes.

International Transfers

Some of the technology providers used by Alba Mums may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where this occurs, appropriate safeguards are in place to ensure that your information continues to receive an adequate level of protection in accordance with UK data protection law.

How Long Your Information Is Kept

Your information is retained only for as long as necessary to:

  • provide the services requested

  • meet legal and professional obligations

  • comply with regulatory requirements

  • resolve complaints or disputes

Once it is no longer required, personal information is securely deleted or destroyed.

Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • request access to your personal information

  • request correction of inaccurate information

  • request deletion of your information in certain circumstances

  • request restriction of processing

  • object to certain types of processing

  • request transfer of your information where applicable

  • withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

Some of these rights may be limited where Alba Mums has a legal obligation to retain information.

Marketing

Alba Mums does not currently send marketing emails or newsletters.

If this changes in the future, you will only receive marketing communications if you have chosen to receive them, and you will be able to unsubscribe at any time.

Cookies

The Alba Mums website uses cookies to ensure the website functions correctly and to understand how visitors use the website.

You can manage your cookie preferences through the cookie banner displayed when you first visit the website.

For more information, please see the Cookie Policy.

Third-Party Websites

The Alba Mums website may contain links to external websites.

Alba Mums is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party websites.

Complaints

If you have any concerns about how your personal information has been handled, please contact me in the first instance at contact@albamums.co.uk so that I have the opportunity to resolve the matter.

If you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Information about how to do this can be found at www.ico.org.uk.

Changes to This Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in legislation, technology or the services provided by Alba Mums.

The latest version will always be available on this website.