Peer Led Support for Mothers in Australia
Villagehood Australia is a peer-led charity supporting mothers and families in the early years through connection, learning and community.
Villagehood was founded in 2020 as a way of providing ongoing support for mothers during early parenthood and providing a place where they can be seen and understood, experience social engagement, and receive the emotional support new parents need.
We began as a local organisation in Adelaide by providing a space where mothers could come together and share their lived experience during the perinatal period and early years of motherhood.
Since then, more than 2,000 mothers have benefitted from peer support they have received from other mothers, enabling them to build connections and rediscover themselves as part of a village that understands perinatal anxiety and the other mental health challenges new mums and their children often experience.
However, it soon became clear that the support services we provide were not only needed locally, but Australia wide.
From lived experience to reforming the system
Villagehood was born from lived experience, but it has grown through what mothers have told us they need through our peer led programs and building our community of parenting groups.
Too often, mothers are struggling in silence and alone without access to knowledge and coping strategies, and while there are some organisations that provide support, it is often fragmented, difficult to navigate and not designed around the lived reality of mothers.
This is why Villagehood is not just about creating connections, it is also about responding to the gaps in the systems supporting women's health and providing accessible early intervention focused on the emotional wellbeing of mothers and their families.
A growing vision and range of support services
From the beginning, Villagehood's aim has been to provide additional support and resources for Australian families navigating the first years after birth and during infancy.
Our journey has been from local to national and mother-centric to village-centric. We have moved from building connections to advocating for systemic change, while remaining grounded in the lived experience of women and their loved ones, and providing peer led support for mothers in Australia.
However, we are now building towards something bigger. Creating a model that supports the mother and the people around her, and which enables her to better navigate Australian government systems.
No matter where she lives, every mother deserves a village and greater support for her well being.
Why we exist
Early parenthood is one of the most critical periods in a child’s life, as well as being one of the most vulnerable times for a new mother and her emotional health.
However, across Australia perinatal mental health support remains under resourced and difficult to access. Health services are fragmented and effective early intervention is all too rare. When mental health challenges are able to be identified, the system is not designed to help mothers through it, leaving them to manage alone without peer support or clinical care.
At Villagehood Australia, we believe that this can and must change.
What we believe
For a child to thrive, the wellbeing of the mother must be paramount. This because most children rely on a primary carer who is most their mum.
Supporting maternal mental health and wellbeing is not something that can be separate from supporting children as it is the foundation.
We believe that no mother should feel alone, connection improves wellbeing and that education builds confidence. Supporting mothers strengthens families and strong families help children thrive, and so communities matter.
Our work is based on the view that lived experience has value and early support makes a significant difference to combatting the anxiety and depression that mothers often experience after giving birth.
Our approach to perinatal mental health support
Villagehood Australia brings together peer led programs and community connections to support parents in a way that feels human, accessible and real.
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We focus on peer support and mothers supporting mothers through their shared lived experiences and understanding. This helps to build the trusted connections that mothers can access at any time, not just at times of postnatal depression, anxiety or loneliness.
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Early intervention and prevention are central to our approach and we provide education and other support services that help to stop mental health problems that impact wellbeing from developing.
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Our care is community focussed, and we aim to meet women where they are in environments that feel safe and familiar, working alongside existing health services and professional support.
The village around the family
Villagehood began by supporting mothers, and this remains our foundation, but it is now apparent that supporting the mother alone is not enough.
She needs a partner who understands perinatal depression and the other mental health challenges new parents face, carers who support her, and to be part of a community of peer support volunteers able to care for her emotional health and well-being.
This is why we are evolving into a village-centric model that remains centred on the mother but also includes those around her.
This next phase of our development is being created in partnership with families, partners and communities so it reflects the real needs and lives of mothers.
Our Vision
Villagehood Australia is committed to building a world where maternal wellbeing is prioritised, no mother feels alone in the early years, and she is able to access mental health support before a crisis develops. We are working together to create a society where families are supported by their community so that children are able to grow up in safe, connected environments.
When we support mothers, we support children. And when we support families, we strengthen communities.
More than programs
Villagehood Australia is not just a program provider, but is also an advocate for rethinking how we as a society support mothers and families in the early years.
Through our work, we provide direct support to mothers and generate insights from their lived experience. We also see highlight gaps in state and Australian government systems and contribute to reform of the health services for mothers.
Facts about maternal mental health in Australia
Of approximately 300,000 women giving birth every year in Australia, 60,000 (1 in 5) will experience postnatal depression within the first two years after birth. This number is likely to increase when other maternal mental disorders are included.
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Postnatal depression does not discriminate based on socioeconomic or cultural background however some mothers are denied immediate and free professional support due to long waitlist.
Suicide is now a leading cause of maternal death in Australia and suicide attempts during and after pregnancy have tripled in the past decade.
Maternal mental health disorders not only harm the health of pregnant and postpartum women but can affect the physical and mental development of the babies.
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