Shout for maternal mental health

Shout For Maternal Mental Health

One in ten women develop a mental illness during pregnancy or during the first year of their baby’s life. This week (April 30th – May 4th) is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week.  The aim of the week is to encourage more people to talk about mental health issues during pregnancy and beyond.

In order to spread awareness of maternal mental health issues even further, Mummy Links founder Emily Tredget, came up with the #shoutieselfie, an innovative new kind of selfie to raise awareness of an issue so many mums struggle with.

The idea behind #shoutieselfie is simple – take a picture of yourself shouting, share it on social media and tag five friends to do the same. Even if you don’t have personal experience of postnatal depression or other maternal mental health issues, the chances are you know someone who has – even if they haven’t told you.

By sharing #shoutieselfies, everyone can play a part in normalising maternal mental health issues to stop sufferers feeling isolated and lonely. The aim is to remove the stigma around postnatal depression and reach out to those who are suffering in silence.

The campaign has been backed by celebrities such as Made in Chelsea star Binky Felstead and has been gaining traction ever since its conception. Netmums, the NCT and other parenting organisations have also joined in.

With one in ten mums suffering from maternal mental health illnesses, it’s so important to spread the message that it’s ok not to be ok. Help and support is out there and is easily accessible for all. Organisations such as PANDAS and the Assosiation for Postnatal Illness offer support in the form of helplines, information leaflets and support groups. The NCT organises courses and local support groups and events for parents.

It’s very common for parents to feel lonely, but luckily there are now many apps like Mummylinks to help parents connect and meet up for friendship, advice and support. Mummy Social, Mush and Peanut also help obliterate the loneliness and isolation so often attached to parenthood.

To share your own #shoutieselfie, simply take a picture of yourself shouting, share it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tag five others to do the same. Together we can make a difference to the ten percent of mums suffering from maternal mental health illnesses. Nobody needs to suffer in silence.

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May 1st, 2018 / Ruth Allsop / 0 comments

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