About Us
Where Kindness Meets Care
MotherCare was founded by Estelle Wasserfall in 2023 from a simple but powerful truth. Mothers and babies need more than medical care to thrive.
They need emotional safety through gentle, compassionate support driven by love. Supporting mothers is a natural extension of protecting newborns, and this philosophy guides everything we do.
Our Beginning
Estelle started her journey in 2016 as a volunteer at New Somerset Hospital. While providing breastfeeding support, she saw how much newborn babies relied on calm, confident care. Their fragility and their remarkable resilience inspired her deeply.
As the babies began to thrive, their mothers gained strength and reassurance.
Estelle realised that by supporting mothers, she was supporting babies; and by supporting babies, she was uplifting entire families. This became the foundation for MotherCare.
MotherCare has transformed the way our unit functions. Referrals from the postnatal ward to High Care for dehydration have decreased significantly, and babies are being discharged sooner.
Mothers are producing milk faster, transitions to breastfeeding are smoother, and the entire ward feels calmer. We see fewer phototherapy re-admissions and fewer cases of hypoglycaemia.
Staff morale has improved, too; mothers are happier, and complaints have decreased. The support they provide has taken an enormous burden off our shoulders.
- Pediatric Consultant and High Care Nursing Team, Paarl Hospital
Our Team
What began with one volunteer has grown into a compassionate and dedicated team.
Estelle Wasserfall
Founder
Dietitian (M Nutrition)
(WOMBS) Doula
Mia van der Merwe
Lactation Consultant (SACLC)
Speech Therapist
Infant massage instructor (IAIM)
Brandy Lourens
Breastfeeding peer counsellor
(La Leche League)
Janine Davies
(WOMBS) Doula
The Heart of MotherCare
At the centre of MotherCare is a deep compassion for newborn babies.
Their well-being is the reason this organisation began and remains the driving force behind its work.
Babies cannot speak for themselves, so MotherCare stands as their advocate.
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Supporting mothers is essential for their babies to truly thrive. Through dedicated training, staff are equipped to provide consistent, compassionate care. Every day is an opportunity to ensure that even the smallest and most vulnerable infants are nurtured with gentleness, dignity, and love.
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This commitment lies at the heart of MotherCare.
How We Care
MotherCare provides: daily hands-on support, trains staff, strengthens breastfeeding systems, and shares a model of care that can be replicated in hospitals across South Africa.
Babies should receive the best, most nurturing start to life, and mothers should feel supported every step of the way.
