The Motivational Mums Club CIC

It gives me great delight to present this annual report, for our debut year of operations, reporting on our activities as a Community Interests Company, of The Motivational Mums Club, for the year ending 31st December 2024. Having first-hand lived experience; The Motivational Mums Club was initiated with a view to providing support and reducing the occurrence within Black and Ethnic Minorities mothers, suffering postpartum depression, anxiety and stress, which often resulted to preterm births (Staneva , Bogossian, Pritchard, & Wittkowski, 2015), (Edge & MacKian, 2010), such that better outcomes before, during and after child birthing would be attained. We are proud to have achieved successful operations within our initial year of existence, carrying out several seminar and workshop sessions, enabling would-be and new mothers access services within the National Health Service (NHS), together with starting an outreach programme with Healthcare speakers, enabling tremendous benefits to ante and post-natal community members. Our Programmes Mummas Together is a peer support group that provides peer-to-peer support to expectant and new mothers of Black and Ethnic Minority origins with their mental health, as well as providing a safe-space for interaction, mental well-being support, enabling these mothers-to-be and new mothers get access to specific health services, together with providing comfortable play areas for their new babies, interaction with each other, sharing experiences and generally enabling candidates engage with mid-wives, such that their overall experience is enhances for better outcomes, prior to and after the birth exercise. In the year 2024, we conducted Four Hundred and Seventy Nine (479) mental health sessions to mothers, reached out to Two Hundred and Eighty Nine (289) black mothers, and One Hundred and Twenty One (121) Black mothers, all of whom are from low-income households. At the Motivational Mums Club, our mission is deeply rooted in supporting maternal health, reducing health disparities, and promoting well-being for women, families, and children. Embedding prevention and health-creation efforts into our existing services is a natural extension of our work and aligns with our vision of holistic, community-focused care. One of our key ideas for embedding these efforts is to provide a dedicated space within children’s centres, where our peer support services can run alongside health visitor and midwife clinics. This integration allows women to conveniently access our services at the start or end of their clinical appointments. By situating our programs in the same location as trusted healthcare providers, we bridge the gap between clinical care and community-based support. This collaborative approach ensures women receive practical guidance, emotional support, and preventive resources in a single visit. Prevention through Peer Support and Education Our existing Mummas Together Peer Support Group plays a significant role in prevention and health-creation by addressing key challenges such as mental health, social isolation, and systemic inequities in healthcare. Black mothers are 13% more likely to have PND and the least likely group to be offered support despite being the most likely to benefit from it. Through these groups, we: Empower Women with Knowledge: Sessions focus on preventive health topics like managing mental health, identifying early signs of complications, and advocating for their needs in maternity care. Encourage Early Intervention: By fostering open discussions, women feel more confident in seeking help early when they notice potential concerns during pregnancy or postpartum. Promote Healthy Lifestyles: Practical workshops on nutrition, exercise, and stress management help women adopt healthier habits that benefit both them and their children. Integrating these groups into clinical spaces enhances accessibility and ensures that the message of prevention reaches those who need it most. It also allows healthcare professionals to feedback areas of improvement and/or share any suggested improvements and accessing maternity, mental health and child services. Future Plans for Integration We envision expanding our services in partnership with health visitors and midwives to deliver a holistic “one-stop” model of care. This could include: Collaborative Workshops: Joint sessions with health professionals on topics like breastfeeding, infant care, and mental health. On-Site Referrals: Women attending midwife or health visitor clinics can be directly referred to our peer support groups for on-going support. Preventive Screenings and Check-Ins: Opportunities for early identification of mental health concerns or other risks followed by immediate access to our support networks. By embedding prevention and health-creation efforts into our services, particularly within children’s centres, we aim to make support seamless, accessible, and empowering for women and families. This approach not only addresses immediate needs but also lays the foundation for healthier communities. Collaboration has been central to the Motivational Mums Club since its inception. We believe that working alongside the healthcare section in collaboration and across sectors enables us to create greater impact and reach more families in need. Our collaborative approach includes: Cross-Sector Collaboration: We actively engage with healthcare providers, educational institutions, and policymakers to advocate for systemic change and improve access to services for underrepresented communities. Co-Production with Participants: A key principle of our work is co-production. Feedback from our community directly informed the development of the Mummas Together Peer Support Group. Impact Evaluation and Sharing Best Practices: Our work is underpinned by a commitment to continuous learning and improvement. Our recently published report highlights the positive impact of our work, with participants reporting improved mental well-being, reduced feelings of isolation, and increased confidence in parenting. Advocacy and Public Engagement: We have worked with other organisations to advocate for policy changes and raise awareness of the challenges faced by Black mothers and families. Christiana Brown is also a lived experience champion for the Maternal Mental Health Alliance and is a member of the Tommy’s Parent Voice Committee, advising on maternal/perinatal research proposals for Black Mothers. She has worked with NHS England, The Mental Health Foundation Charity, NHS East London, South East Integrated Care, Tommee Tippee, The Baby Show, BBC, and more. Along with speaking at the House of Lords, Channel 4 Dispatches and more. Outlook for 2025 and Beyond We recognise the immense impact hinged on our ethos and the testimony of beneficiaries of our maternal and child support services. Currently working with Two (2) National Health Service Trust, we have laid out the operational framework for our 2025 programmes to include more NHS Trust, seminars and workshops in the north of England. We also hope to bring succour to at least One Thousand (1’000) babies of Black mothers, within the first One Hundred and Fifty days (150) of their birth. We strongly believe that doing so, would give mother and child, a warm welcome, eliminate the post-partum stress and enhance optimal maternal psycho-mental well-being. We are deeply grateful to our donors and sponsors for their support. Thank you.