In March, Diana Parkinson, of Crouch End, received an Unsung Women Award from Haringey Council for her participation in the Birth Companions Organisation (BCO), which focuses on providing practical and emotional support to pregnant women in prison. This is something she has done for the past 11 years since the group's inception.

Pleased and surprised at receiving the award, the 41-year-old said: "It was a great surprise and it was lovely."

This modest reaction covers up the important work that Ms Parkinson does for women prisoners and their children.

Currently there are 4,500 women in prison throughout England and Wales and figures from as far back as 1994 show that three per cent of female prisioners were pregnant. And while the Prison Service has no current statistics available, the BCO says the number has increased.

And while the Prison Service does currently have 68 places in Mother and Baby units throughout England and Wales, with 21 at Holloway alone, many women who give birth while detained have no one to support them.

Until BCO came into existence, thanks to Sheila Kitzinger, an honorary professor at Thames Valley University and a social anthropologist, women who were preparing to give birth in prison had no one to turn to for support.

Created in October 1996, Prof Kitzinger, now 77, founded the organisation which mainly collaborates with Holloway Prison. She approached Ms Parkinson in 1996 while she was working as an antenatal teacher.

Since then, Ms Parkinson has acted as the Chair of Trustees and spends her time managing the organisation.

Singing its praises, she said: "I think it's a fantastic organisation. It's rewarding to help these women in need."

Avan Wadia, 45, of Stoke Newington, has been a Birth Companions trustee for seven years. Although it is a small charity, she feels that she is working for a "very worthy cause."

Birth Companions provides specially-trained birth supporters called Doulas, derived from a Greek word meaning a female server or caregiver.

The Doulas are there for the female prisoners before, during and after the birth of their child, and the purpose of a Doula is to "mother the mother" in order to allow a woman to feel as comfortable, safe and empowered as possible as they prepare to give birth and look after their newborn.

For women in Holloway Prison, most of whom are no longer in touch with their families or close friends, the Doulas provided by BCO are all they have.

"These women are very vulnerable," Prof Kitzinger said. "On a small scale we are trying to be there for them."

Birth Companions help the women in Holloway Prison in a number of different ways, including assisting pregnant prisoners to draw up birth plans, providing information and support during pregnancy, assistance during the birth and they also help women adjust to their new roles as mothers.

Volunteers form strong relationships with the women in Holloway, based on trust as the one-to-one relationship between a birth companion and a pregnant prisoner is of utmost importance.

Prof Kitzinger said: "Pregnancy, birth and new motherhood give the women an opportunity to mature, but they can't do this without support."

Almost a quarter of the women in Holloway Prison are foreign and incarcerated for petty crimes with many suffering from mental illnesses.

With the Doula scheme they would otherwise have no one to help them or their newborn babies.

Out of all the female prisoners in Holloway Prison, 37 per cent attempted suicide, with a quarter of them being single mothers - it is these women that the BCO especially supports.

So far, Birth Companions has provided services to more than 200 people and Prof Kitzinger is hoping to expand the programme to include women in other prisons as well as women seeking asylum.

She described a recent incident involving a woman from the Congo who fell pregnant after being raped.

Her birth companion was there to make everything as untraumatic as possible.

And while that is specialist care, Ms Parkinson stressed you don't have be a Doula to be involved with BCO. She said: "There are many ways to help, you can donate baby clothes, and we are always in need of money. Or you can be trained and work as a volunteer."

And it is rewarding work. "You get a very warm sensation," Prof Kitzinger said. "It's important to be person-to-person. You don't only rub your charge's back and breathe with her, it's more than this. You give a lot of yourself."

For more information on the Birth Companions organisation, you can visit their website at www.birthcompanions.org.uk