Stroud mum helps others after post-natal depression experience

Tracey Edwards said she felt accepted and heard when she joined the Mothers in Mind support group in Stroud

A mother who received a charity's help for postnatal depression six years ago has built a support network for others also struggling with motherhood.

Tracey Edwards, from Stroud, received help from a Home Start volunteer when she had her second child in 2015.

She now co-ordinates drop-in sessions in Stroud and Gloucester and trains volunteers to help other women.

Ms Edwards, 49, said: "It's basically mums supporting mums. It's gone full circle."

Tracey was linked with Home Start when her health visitor noticed she was "not her usual self" during a baby weigh-in session for her six-month-old daughter.

She was then referred to another health visitor who recommended Home Start.

" I had never heard of Home-Start but knew I was struggling and needed help," she said. 

'Almighty struggle'

Tracey was matched with a volunteer who visited once a week.

"Day to day it was an almighty struggle - just surviving from seven in the morning to seven at night when my daughter was settling back down.

"It was a case of working on autopilot to get through that day."

Her daughter was loved and cared for but Tracey said "everything else slipped".

But after the weekly drop ins, her outlook brightened to the point where she could deal with unopened bills, and the day to day running of the household more easily.

She eventually joined other women in the Mothers in Mind group in Stroud where she was able share how she felt and listen to other women's experiences.

"I was able to be myself and talk about my feelings and I started to realise that everything was quite normal."

Through the charity she was later signposted to receive specialised therapy for undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severe depression and anxiety.

Tracey has since trained to become a peer support volunteer and co-ordinator for the charity.

"I always say to mums, 'the bravest step to make is to reach out for help, shout as loud as you have to, to ensure that help is forthcoming, and if it doesn't come then keep reaching out'."