Baby class talking about anxiety and depression

[Bellzy]

Hi all
I'm a mum of two and found the lack of support during the postnatal period shocking.
I've attended baby groups advertised as having time to discuss common struggles etc and it never addresses anything useful.
I am a mental health professional and so thinking of starting my own baby classes and would love other parents opinions/experiences.

I'm thinking a class with a bit of a talk about depression/how to cope and then time for facilitated discussion with toys for baby.
I'd want it to feel supportive and cheery but worried it wouldn't, and worried people don't want to pay for this, and would rather pay for baby sensory etc.

Any words of wisdom welcome! Be honest, I can take it! :)

I think it’s a good idea but maybe worded more of a group for mums to chat all things motherhood whilst in a safe and enjoyable play environment for babies.

I have felt parenthood incredibly lonely this second time
around. I go to baby classes and chat away but it feels like most mums go with someone they know so it’s hard to strike up a friendship and even when you do chat, it feels superficial. I would love to have gone to a class where I could just chat with other parents and feel a sense of community.

Just to add if you were going down the route of creating it then I think themed classes would be great- “next week we are going to focus on … postpartum rage etc” that way everyone knows the main topic of conversation but you still have equal time to chat about other topics whilst engaging in play with our little ones.

Thank you so much for your reply! It's nice to hear Im not the only one struggling more second time around. I agree that the sense of community is lacking, and I think that's why I often felt let down by baby groups.
I was there.. talking to mums..doing what I "should" be, but something was missing.

I love the ideas of set topics, thank you. Hopefully having a theme to start with can help people truly chat and connect.

I think for these kind of talky groups it can be helpful to have an activity for people to do while they talk e.g. art/craft. Takes the pressure off a little. Good luck with it, I think there's such a need for post-natal support.

Our local children's centre ran one focused on mums that may benefit more from this kind of thing. It was referral only, open to those suffering with poor mental health, anxiety, depression etc. I got in due to my history of severe pnd with my eldest so they signed me up after my second was born. It was honestly sooooo good, and not negative in the slightest. I made really good mum friends and we still meet now our babies are 2. The sessions consisted of a craft activity (making a sensory rattle, butterfly footprint canvas etc). The volunteers made nutritious flapjacks and made us a coffee (lidded heat proof cups etc for obvious reasons) and we'd end with singing to the babies. It sandwiched a group chat about what had been good or hard that week, or a safe space to ask opinions on things. There was a loose topic each week, mental health, feeding, first aid, sensory play etc. I genuinely credit it as being one of the reasons I miraculously escaped PND with my second born as i felt supported. They were so considerate, little things like i put my baby down and one of the ladies said "expertly done". That probably sounds so patronising but when you're riddled with self doubt and trying to fight off feelings of not being good enough it really makes a difference. We were a very varied bunch, aged between 20 and 42 and different backgrounds and set ups but it just worked. It isn't intimidating like typical baby groups can be (i remember crying after one with my eldest, i paid £60 i didn't really have to try and make friends but they were all nct friends or on their second or third babies and knew each other so naturally were facing each other to chat, whilst friendly enough). I'd go to something similar if available for toddler parents or if I had another baby.

Oh I love the idea of crafts, the idea of doing something to take the pressure off. Thank you so much, I hadn't thought of it in that way.

Thank you @Stickthatupyourdojo for sharing your experiences and how helpful this type of support was. It's a real incentive to make these groups more accessible.

Thank you for all the encouragement and support ♥️

Sounds like great idea. The class that @Stickthatupyourdojo describes sounds really useful. Maybe you can sell the idea to something like Peanut - thats all about mum friendships and reducing isolation.

I agree with pp - definitely reframe it as not just a baby class. I was referred to one group like this by my HV with DD1 (i had PND, she had been a NICU baby and we were struggling). Not as nice as @Stickthatupyourdojo (no flapjack!) but it ran for 8weeks at the children's centre. There were toys for all the babies. Each week had a different theme (fine motor development, social development, gross motor development, weaning, speech and language etc) and around 4 members of staff so there was lots of time to talk to each mum.

What i would say is think really carefully about what age you are aiming at and the time of the class. I've just been on mat leave with DD2 and we haven't done any baby classes because they are basically all either during her morning or afternoon nap. She is a dreadful sleeper and buggy naps dont work for us so weve been really trapped. Pre-6months, I found an 11.30/ midday class to be the best. After 6months and once weaning, maybe 1.30pm/2pm class so that she could eat at midday, out to class and then back home for nap by 3pm latest. A lot of classes were at 9.30/10 but in the depths of my PND, I struggled to get us both up, dressed and out of the house that early.

Thank you this is all brilliant stuff. So much to think about.

It sounds like it's a little optimistic to run on my own and that groups do well with more facilitators.

And definitely need to rethink the branding/ name! I'll have a search around for similar things in the UK to see if I can get some inspiration. If anyone remembers their class names, please share :)

And yes I definitely agree with the times, it can be a huge barrier.

Thanks for it all! I really do appreciate it :)

You could do a mix of things: crafts, baby massage etc. Inviting a pelvic physio along one week would also benefit loads of mothers. Where I am in Europe, almost everyone does an American health care programme called centering pregnancy before birth which is group midwife appointments and lots of discussions about that sort of thing (including a physio visit) It was originally developed for lower socio economic women, but had been rolled out internationally and is shown to significantly improve outcomes.

Hey if you Google, "mother's uncovered" they do groups like these. Each week they do a structured activity and explore feelings, themes etc. Good luck!