Maternal Mental Health with Charlotte Hammond
Today I talk to Charlotte Hammond of Charlotte’s Village, a birth and postnatal doula with a particular interest in maternal mental health, especially beyond the first year postpartum
We talk about:
What a postnatal doula does and how she can play a role in a mother’s wellbeing
Why looking after your mental health as a new mother is important
When postnatal depression or mental health problems can happen
How to prioritise self-care and find me time
Charlotte is a mum of two and experienced postnatal depression with both children. Crucially, with her first daughter, she was 11 months postpartum when she realised she needed support but the cut off point for accessing most support services is at 1 year postpartum. She decided to re-train as a doula when she found out what doulas do, and realised that was a way she could support other mums to help them through what she experienced. She founded Charlotte’s Village and runs a peer support group MumTalk, based in Bromley although running online currently.
Charlotte was really candid about her experience with postnatal depression, and what I loved about our chat was how non-judgemental and open she is, yet still with a wonderful sense of humour. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to experience postnatal depression, and I think it’s amazing that she uses her experience to support other mums.
At the end of the episode, Charlotte gave three great tips to help make sure self-care becomes a priority:
Schedule it in
Do it alone (i.e. without kids!)
Make it an exchange with your partner.
To find other mums in your local area, Charlotte recommended using the app Mush, which is almost like a dating app for mums.
Find Charlotte: Website | Instagram | MumTalk
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