27 October 2026
Midwife-made pregnancy drink from Beaconsfield wins national award
ISOMUM beat more than 2,000 businesses from across the UK to be named Consumer Products StartUp of the Year at the UK StartUp Awards
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ISOMUM press room
News, facts, images and contacts for journalists covering ISOMUM and founder Darcey Croft.
THE UK'S FIRST PREGNANCY-GRADE ELECTROLYTE DRINK, CREATED BY A SPECIALIST MIDWIFE.
Latest Press Release
Why ISOMUM exists
Because women in labour only had sports drinks designed around male athletes.
Pregnancy raises the fluid in a woman's blood by around half. Labour can then last for hours, with fluid lost through sweat and breathing. The usual advice is still to drink water, but NICE warned in 2025 that too much plain water in labour can dilute the sodium in the blood.
Specialist midwife and Advanced Clinical Practitioner Darcey Croft watched that gap play out on labour wards. ISOMUM is pregnancy-grade hydration for pregnancy, labour and recovery, designed to sit alongside prenatal vitamins, not duplicate them.
Built for labour, not a marathon.
“Labour is one of the most physically demanding things a woman's body will ever do, and nobody had designed anything for it. So I did.”
Pregnancy in numbers
640,000
women giving birth in the UK each year
9 in 10
experience fatigue during pregnancy
8 in 10
experience nausea and vomiting in pregnancy
+50%
more fluid in a woman's blood by late pregnancy
13,000+
women a year admitted to hospital with severe pregnancy sickness, including hyperemesis gravidarum (estimated)
£62m
estimated annual NHS cost of pregnancy sickness
Sources: ONS, NRS, NISRA (2024); Rodriguez et al. (2001); Gadsby et al. (2018); RCOG; Soma-Pillay et al. (2016); Fiaschi et al. (2019).
At a glance
- For
- Pregnancy, labour, postpartum recovery and breastfeeding
- How
- One sachet mixed with water. Designed to work alongside prenatal vitamins.
- Flavours
- Original Blackcurrant; Raspberry Lemonade launching late November 2026
- Price
- 12 sachets £15.99 · 24 sachets £28.99
- Buy
- isomum.com
- Based
- Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
Awards and recognition
- National winner 2026, UK StartUp Awards, Consumer Products StartUp of the Year
- South East winner 2025 and 2026, UK StartUp Awards
- Finalist 2026, Great British Entrepreneur Awards
- Finalist 2025, Nourish Awards, Women's Health Supplement of the Year
As featured in
Metro · LBC · The Telegraph · The Guardian · BBC News · Mirror · The Sun · Mother & Baby · Patient.info · The Hindu · Bucks Free Press · Talk Radio Europe
In the press
Metro
I got a £25,000 government loan to start my drinks business for pregnant mums
Founder story
Read articleLBC
I'm a midwife who left the NHS - maternity care is still ignoring the harm no one can see
Byline
Read articleThe Telegraph
I'm seven months pregnant and scared of the birth. This is what every mother should ask
Expert comment
Read articleMother & Baby
Everything you need to know about electrolytes in pregnancy
Byline
Read articleThe Hindu
UK businesswomen begin 1,000 km Chennai-Goa auto-rickshaw rally to support women and children
Feature
Read articlePatient.info
When you should and shouldn't worry during your pregnancy
Expert comment
Read articleAbout Darcey Croft
Darcey Croft is a British midwife, Advanced Clinical Practitioner and independent prescriber, and a specialist in perinatal mental health. She has attended thousands of births, holds an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice and sits on a NICE expert panel. She founded ISOMUM after seeing women in labour rely on sports drinks built for male athletes.
Darcey can talk about
- Hydration and electrolytes in pregnancy, labour and breastfeeding
- Why women's health products are so often built on male data
- Maternal mental health
- UK maternity care
- Leaving the NHS to build a business
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Darcey Croft, founder
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