Singing Mamas – Supporting Maternal Mental Health Through Singing Together
A guest blog post by Sally-Ann Garbutt who leads Singing Mama groups in Cambridgeshire.
Singing Mamas is an international non-profit movement set up by nurse Kate Valentine to improve women’s wellbeing through singing. There are currently over 150 groups worldwide with 120 of those groups being based in the UK. Singing Mamas groups are for women of all ages, with and without children, but with a strong focus on supporting maternal mental health. Babies and children are welcome at Singing Mamas groups but the singing is for the women. We sing simple and mindful songs for about an hour and then have half an hour for refreshments and chat.
I am a mum myself and I found the transition to motherhood particularly difficult. This led me to retrain as an antenatal and baby massage teacher as I wanted to support women through pregnancy and postpartum. I gave birth to my second child at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic which was a particularly stressful and isolating time to be adjusting to being a second-time mum. I took a break from teaching and decided to join a choir. Getting back to singing again was such a massive boost to my own mental wellbeing that I was determined to bring singing into my work supporting mums which is why I decided to train with Singing Mamas.
Group singing provides so many benefits for our wellbeing. It reduces stress hormones, boosts our production of endorphins, improves breathing and posture and builds social connections quickly. Clinical research has also proven group singing to be an effective treatment for postnatal depression.
When I became a mum, like many women, I really struggled with the loss of my identity. Music was my main pastime before having children and I found it difficult to continue with evening activities whilst my children were small. If I had been able to attend a Singing Mamas group it would have allowed me to continue with something that is an important part of who I am whilst getting to grips with being a mum. Even for women who haven’t participated in singing before there is somuch to gain from coming to a group which is completely focused on you and allows you to learn something new.
I am also quite a socially anxious, introverted person and I found attending general playgroups stressful. I preferred structured baby classes which encouraged me to interact positively with my baby but they didn’t really help me build social connections at a time when I was very lonely. The great thing about singing together is it builds that sense of connection without you having to make small talk if that feels difficult for you. Building community is an important part of Singing Mamas so we always have social time after singing. However, I find that the singing tends to break the ice and gives the women who come to my group something in common other than the fact that they happened to have a baby about the same time as each other. If you don’t want to talk about babies you can talk about singing instead.
Motherhood can feel totally overwhelming, especially when taking care of a baby or toddler. I found the never-ending to do list and always feeling like I could be doing a better job really impacted my self-esteem. Some of my favourite moments in leading Singing Mamas, is when we finish learning a new song and I can see the mums feeling a sense of achievement. They get to use a different part of their brain to accomplish something and that builds confidence. Equally I love all the giggles when we don’t quite get it right or the song falls apart completely and we are reminded that it is OK to get things wrong and life is not about everything being perfect. We show up as we are and that is enough.
If you would like to come and join us we would love to welcome you. We meet in Waterbeach on Tuesday mornings and Cambridge on Thursday mornings. Your first session is free and then there are a range of payment options including concessionary and free places to those who need them. Singing Mamas is free to anyone who is 36+ weeks pregnant. Send me an email and I will be happy to provide you with more information about attending our groups ([email protected]). For more information about Singing Mamas take a look at this link.
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