Fed up and facing forty!

The idea for Mummo came to me one drizzly winter’s day when I was feeling really down. The big 40 was looming less than a year away and there I was, fat (well, still battling the post-baby tummy bulge!), frustrated and seriously fed up. What had happened to all my dreams? In fact, what had happened to me? I knew that I couldn’t carry on being a full-time stay-at-home mum, but I had no idea what else to do with my future. In a strange kind of a way, it was the shock of experiencing postnatal illness - which came out of the blue and rocked my whole world - which actually gave me an answer. I’d always wanted to do something that would ‘make a difference’ and, in the midst of my misery, I decided that the people I most wanted to help were mums just like me!

Research suggests that postnatal illness is more than three times as common today as it was in the 1950s - up from 8% then to around 27% now, with a further 25% of mothers feeling that they may have suffered from it*. This means that around 50% of mums feel pretty miserable, at least for a while. Evidence also shows that a mother’s state of mind can have a profound impact on her children’s emotional, cognitive and behavioural development. My own experience has taught me that, no matter how well you may think you’re hiding your true feelings, your children know. They may not be able to describe what's going on, but they absorb it … and act accordingly! Even in today’s society, the mother plays a pivotal role within most families, with everyone else’s mood often depending on theirs. I fundamentally believe that happy mums make for happy families and that, quite simply, is the reason for Mummo. Let me know if it works!


Jo Rheam
Founder of Mummo


* Netmums ‘A mum’s life’ survey of 2,000 mums, April 2004. Survey repeated with 5,300 mums in 2007, with the same overall results for postnatal illness.