Dr. Nicole Highet, a leading authority on maternal mental health, illuminates the challenges that new mothers face. She breaks the news that one-fifth of women have anxiety during pregnancy and postpartum, and one in ten have depression during pregnancy. After childbirth, that figure jumps to one in seven women experiencing depression. In reaction to these terrifying statistics, advocacy organizations such as Gladstone Strollers have mobilized. After birth, they offer crucial support to new mothers as they touch on the emotional complexities of stepping into motherhood.
For 27-year-old Keely Curley, the memory of bringing her first child into the world is still fresh. She called the process “emotionally traumatic,” it left her feeling “cracked wide open.” The arrival of her baby in 2022 coincided with a fresh wave of grief, as she lost her mother to brain cancer in her early twenties. Curley found comfort and community activity by activity, sometimes finding a helping hand during events hosted by Gladstone Strollers. It’s her hope to continue to fund these activities indefinitely.
The Importance of Community
Gladstone Strollers group provides new mothers a rare opportunity to connect, share and cope with their emotions in the vicinity of a perfect healing environment. The mothers meet each Monday for a 20-minute walk, offering them all the benefits of exercise and community. One member, Abby Moetu, who brings her ideas to the meet-ups with her eight-month-old daughter Irie in tow, reflects on the value of this community.
“Coming here was just her way of letting go of all the things she probably bottled up because she had no-one to speak to.” – Abby Moetu
Meetup member Shauna Manwaring, who usually brings her one-year-old daughter with her to the gatherings, has similarly found strength in the support group. She candidly shared her struggles with postpartum challenges, noting, “I had a nasty postpartum — it wasn’t fun at all.” To Manwaring, the support and connection with the other moms has been key to getting through her own journey.
One of them, Bianca Castell, who brings her daughter Zara with her to group, told us how the group has changed her life in many ways. She stated, “It’s just made my life so much easier, and getting out of the house is our favourite part of the day.” Sentiments like these underscore the shared reality of loneliness many mothers experience right after childbirth.
The Role of Professional Guidance
Dr. Highet said support groups such as Gladstone Strollers are having a really important impact on raising awareness of maternal mental health issues.
“It’s the social connection, particularly if those people are having honest conversations about their experiences and being able to support each other.” – Dr. Nicole Highet
She goes on to better explain how exercise can be preventative for anxiety and depression. “We also know that exercise itself can have a very preventative effect for anxiety and depression,” she noted. These findings reinforce the critical role that movement, as well as community and emotional support, play in promoting positive mental health for new mothers.
Curley acknowledges the lack of traditional support systems, stating, “I didn’t have a traditional village around me of family, so it was very isolating.” She knows that too many mothers are just as “failed by systems” and don’t have a strong community support system that used to be the norm.
Building a New Village
Don’t tell Curley she can’t make something out of nothing — she’s decided to nurture relationships between moms in her community herself. “This time I’ve made the effort to be that person for other people and, in turn, they’ve become that person for me too,” she remarked. This proactive approach leaves room for everyone, making her experience stronger but deepening the connections within the group.
Dr. Highet’s observations support what we all instinctively know—that community care is critical for new mothers. As she explains, in any group of mothers, it’s statistically likely that at least some of the women are experiencing serious, treatable mental health conditions.
“When you think about the number of mums who might be in a mothers’ group, that’s going to be one, two or three people in that mother’s group [with a mental health condition] at any particular time.” – Dr. Highet
