Babies and their parents coping with additional challenges through the pandemic have been inundated with presents and friendship this Christmas from Home-Start North Somerset in partnership with local churches, White Stuff and John Lewis/Waitrose.
While the pandemic has been in full swing, mums and their babies have still been meeting each other through our online Mums in Mind support group to reduce loneliness and isolation during lockdown. All the mums have reported that the group has made them feel happier, calmer and less isolated in one way or another, even if life remains difficult in many ways. Mums coming to group have benefited from making new friends that are in the same position and knowing they are not alone, even in a pandemic.
Mums have said: “It’s nice having people I can just talk to if I’m worrying about stuff, who understand and are going through it at the same time. I still worry about things and especially being a first time mum but it’s just nice to have people to talk about whether it’s a normal worry or whether I’m overthinking things.”
“I’m doing less than I hoped I would be on maternity but because we have the group and even though we’re all at home I don’t really think of that now. I might be physically on my own for the day but I’m not isolated.”
Having completed our first term of Mums in Mind online we are so pleased to see that meeting as a group virtually seems to be having just as powerful an effect as our in person groups have over the last 3 years.
One mum who was initially a little unsure about meeting online said “My expectations weren’t very high as I don’t like things online and I didn’t expect to meet people who I would then meet up with outside the zoom.”
When new mums come together, whatever the hardships faced during pregnancy, birth or beyond, they realise they are not alone in how they are feeling, can normalize their experiences and find acceptance in themselves and their lives. Having a go to group makes for a happier, calmer and supported journey into motherhood.
Combining weekly themed discussions with mindfulness relaxations and a Whatsapp group, everyone has brought warmth, empathy, laughter and inspiration to the group. To see the changes after these last 10 weeks has been a true Christmas miracle.
Mums have been attending baby yoga classes together in person which they wouldn’t have known about without having come to Mums in Mind. Now we’ve entered Tier 2 they are arranging their own park group walks and coffees and are in a much better place to cope with whatever comes next in parenting or the pandemic!
From 2021 we will be running a new group for mums with baby’s under one and plan to combine this with group park walks to support mums struggling with their emotional wellbeing in lockdown.
Mums can self refer or ask a health professional to make a referral for them for our group services. For more information visit https://home-