#ShoutieSelfie For Maternal Mental Health Week

When you had your children, how was your mental health? Did you have Post-Natal depression? We used to call it Post-Partum Depression. I think I had some issues with that after each child, to a mild degree. I never asked for any help for my feelings. And, that is typical. Many mothers don’t ask for help. That is why I’m so happy to participate in the #ShoutieSelfie campaign. We need to make mothers and parents aware that there are issues that mothers face. We need to encourage mothers to ask for help when they need it.

Why parents will be shouting on 5th of May

For it’s 5th year Happity will be supporting Maternal Mental Health Week by asking parents to post a #ShoutieSelfie on Wednesday 5th of May to show their support for parents suffering with mental health. 

A study from King’s College London, led by Professor Louise Howard, found that 1 in 4 women suffer with mental health issues during pregnancy, and the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) found that half of those struggling post-natally don’t receive the treatment they need.

Perinatal mental health problems carry an economic and social long-term cost to society of £8.1 billion* for each one-year cohort of births in the UK. Loneliness is known to contribute to mental health problems, so with 93% of mums reporting to be lonely as some point each week, it’s a problem needing solving. Additionally, the stigma still related to mental health is stopping mums asking for help early one – and early treatment is key as 70% of this cost to society is related to helping the child throughout their lifetime.

#ShoutieSelfie is the brainchild of maternal mental health campaigner, Emily Tredget, who suffered Post-Natal Depression (PND) and Post-Natal Anxiety (PNA) after the birth of her son in 2015. Finding the bravery to talk about what she had experienced made her realise she was not alone. And this helped her on the road to recovery. 

Emily is co-founder of Happity.co.uk which helps parents connect through baby & toddler groups. Her research found that 93% of new mums are lonely, and that loneliness increases the risk of maternal mental health issues by 50 per cent. Happity aims to help parents beat loneliness and thus maintain mental wellness.

Emily said:

“This year more than any before #ShoutieSelfie is so important. We are hearing daily of parents struggling with their mental health, and given the impact this can have not only on them, but also on their family over their lifetime too, we need to ensure all parents know they are not alone and that they can get support, even during this really difficult time.”

Happity.co.uk is the UK’s number one listing and booking website for baby and toddler classes. Happity has been instrumental in getting baby & toddler classes back safely, and Emily was even nominated alongside Marcus Rashford and others for the first Parliamentary Award for “Petition Campaign of the Year” for Happity’s work supporting new parents during the Pandemic. 

She added:

“If you know 5 parents – chances are that one of them is struggling with a mental health issue. Too many mums keep their mental health struggles hidden. Happity launched #ShoutieSelfie to end the stigma. We are asking parents to share a selfie of them shouting to show others that they hear them, they support them and to let them know they are not alone.”

The #ShoutieSelfie campaign was started back in 2017 and has been a huge success with over 10 million impressions and the support of many celebs and organisations including Celebs Go Dating star Anna Williamson, Made in Chelsea stars Binky, Jane Felstead and Josh Paterson, as well as HeadsTogether, NCT and BBC5Live.

Jane said: “I suffered with post-natal depression and I really don’t want any other mums to go through what I went through.

“Whilst I obviously can’t stop it happening to some, I hope that by sharing my story and supporting #ShoutieSelfie, it will help mums to get help quickly and not feel wrong, different, or ashamed.”

On Wednesday 5th May Emily is asking parents to post a #ShoutieSelfie on their social media platforms. All parents and supporters have to do is take a selfie of themselves shouting, post it on their social media platforms with the hashtag #ShoutieSelfie and write about why they are shouting loud to raise awareness of and stop the stigma surrounding mental health issues. 

Won’t you join us? Add your #ShoutieSelfie to social media and tag your friends. Mention Maternal Mental Health Week and that there is no Stigma. You could mention that you are not alone. Use your own words and spread the message that we’re all in this together.