Becoming a mum can have a big impact on a woman’s wellbeing. It can affect how she copes in daily life and her self-confidence may plummet. Throw into this the need to get back into employment and a mum may find herself feeling anxious and out of her depth.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, approximately 68% of women with mental health concerns are mothers, with the most common issues being anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

It was with this in mind that Jane Knight, founder of award-winning Successful Mums, decided to address the way mums approach their own mental health and wellbeing on their journey back into employment.

In Mental Health Awareness Week, after a year of planning, Jane is proud to announce the launch of the Successful Mum’s Managing Mental Health and Wellbeing Certificate.

The certificate has been incorporated for the first time this week into the Successful Mums brand-new Digital and Social Media for Mums in Business course, and Jane has hopes to include it into all future courses.  The certificate will be delivered in bite-sized chunks, rather than a lengthy lecture format, to encourage women to have the self-confidence to talk about the issues faced in mental health.

‘Successful Mums was created five years ago and in the last 12 months we have been making plans to put mental health higher up on our agenda,’ Jane said.

‘I have spoken directly to so many women affected by mental health issues related to being a mum. They may be suffering anxiety, be on antidepressants or have had a relationship breakdown with their partner or family members. On top of this, they need to care for their children and families and may need to get back into work.’

‘It’s important for mums to acknowledge that so many things happen to a woman after she has a baby. As well as having to bond with this new baby, a new mum has to work out if they’re going to breast or bottle feed, their social circles or support networks may change or disappear and some women may even feel they don’t want to leave the house.’

Evidence suggests that nearly 13% of all sickness absence days in the UK can be attributed to mental health conditions and new statistics reveal that women in full-time employment are nearly twice as likely to have a common mental health problem as full-time employed men.  Jane believes the new Successful Mums Certificate will empower women to have an open discussion about mental health.

‘We are creating a safe space for awareness and we hope our participants will have the self-confidence to speak frankly in a supportive environment,’

Figures released in October 2018 by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that for the first time, work-related stress anxiety or depression accounts for over half of all working days lost due to ill health in Great Britain and in total, stress, anxiety and depression now makes up 43.8% of all workplace illness, up considerably from 32% in 2001/02.

This week’s Successful Mums cohort covered the Level 1 Mental Health Awareness Award section of the certificate and after the group had some vibrant and engaging discussions about how social media use affected them and their own families, trainer Charlotte highlighted how this related to the group within a business setting.

The session looked at the different types of mental health issues, how to offer support, how the media reports it, promoting positive wellbeing, mindfulness and the detrimental effects of social media.

‘Covering this in our sessions is raising awareness and enabling our mums to manage their wellbeing at home and in their business,’ Jane said.

‘Participants will learn to recognise what their trigger points are and what steps they can build into their life to help them going forward. It’s something they can discuss with their families and children too, as we realise, if mums are anxious or stressed this can have an impact on their children.’

The accredited certificate covers three topics including; Developing Effective Thinking Skills, Mental Health Awareness and Stress Awareness.  If you’re interested in finding out more about our courses, click here.