Pregnant women and new mums have joined forces and formed a post-partum choir to ease the stresses of becoming a new parent.
Singing Mamas is a non-profit collection of choirs throughout the country, inviting women to sing songs written by members about relevant topics like seasons changing and daily life stresses.
In Herne Hill and Mitcham, Georgia Ladbury runs two 90-minute sessions a week.
They begin with mindfulness, then an hour of singing, and end with tea, cake, and conversation – all with the aim of calming down and forming friendships.
Georgia said: “When you’re singing, your brain is occupied. You’re just in the present moment.
“You need to listen to each other. You are co-creating something. Your voice contributes to the great whole, and you create something beautiful together.
“That’s often quite a surprise for the women that come to the group because a common response I’ll get when I’m giving out flyers is, ‘Oh, you won’t want me… I can’t sing’.
“But if you can breathe, you can sing.”
The songs themselves are a core part of Singing Mamas as many group leaders, including Georgia, have written them.
She explained: “A lot of the songs address feeling overwhelmed in a really gentle way.
“Or have messages to remember to slow down and breathe, and to let you know you don’t always have to be in a rush.”
This message is the continued motivation for Singing Mamas. According to the latest research by MBRRACE-UK, mental health issues such as suicide remain a leading cause for late maternal deaths (between six weeks and one year after pregnancy).
Due to this, the organisation has set the goal of giving every woman access to their sessions.
Georgia put it simply enough: “You go to your local children centres, and you can access baby massages, and you can access baby yoga. So, why not?”
There is also a clear emphasis on making Singing Mamas as easy to access as possible. There are currently 91 groups across the country, and Georgia explained that there are emotional benefits to them being as local as possible.
She said: “Loneliness and isolation is a really big driver of poor mental health in women.
“The women that come to the choir are also in your neighbourhood… So I’ll be going to get the train, and I’ll see that a group of Mums who have just been at Singing Mamas are sitting in a café.”
She argues that the singing helps build relationships when the women chat after.
She said: “What’s really beautiful is that because you have done that connecting activity for a whole hour – a lot of songs touch on how difficult things can be – in that final half an hour people are much more honest.”
“They go much deeper than other playgroup things I have been to.”
Poppy, a former Singing Mama, agreed. She joined the group when her son was only three weeks old.
Following a traumatic birth, Poppy was not only in need of support, but companionship from women who understood.
She said: “I spent the first class just feeling like I was going to cry the whole time.
“It was just so powerful to be in a group of women singing together. Something very sacred and supportive.”
“There were always really useful moments to talk about any issues with breastfeeding, or if your baby has an allergy, or just to ask advice from other mums.”
Poppy left Singing Mamas because she had to return to full-time work, but gave credit to the choir for making her maternity leave ‘really nice.’ It’s a space that mothers can ‘recuperate and regenerate.’
And although the meet-ups are entirely about the mamas, not the kids, Poppy did credit the group for giving her two-year-old son a musical streak.
After singing him the choir’s songs as a newborn, either in the pram or as he tries to sleep, he now has his own musical streak ‘by osmosis.’
She said: “He loves music, instruments, dancing. It’s absolutely because of Singing Mamas.
“I think it’s really helped him as much as it’s helped me, even though it wasn’t intended for him at all.”
“It was a really special time. I can’t wait to go back.”
Featured image credit: singingmamas.org (@singing_mamas_org)
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