Advocating for Better Support for Mothers and Children
For children to thrive, we must support the people raising them
The early years are one of the most critical periods in a child’s life, as this is when emotional development, attachment and a sense of safety begin to form. This shapes both the child's development, and their lifelong wellbeing.
However, across Australia mothers, parents and carers are not being consistently supported.
During the perinatal period and beyond, many new mums experience anxiety, postnatal depression, isolation and overwhelm, while any support that is available is too often fragmented, difficult to navigate, and focused on crisis and mental health issues rather than delivering preventative support services.
This means that many Australian women and families are left to manage alone and without any contact with professional support or advice until the situation escalates and becomes a crisis.
The problems for new mums, parents and carers
Most people would agree that the early years are crucial for babies and children, yet mums remain largely unsupported because the health service system is not designed around mothers and children.
Across Australia, the mental health and wellbeing of mothers, both during pregnancy and in the early years, remains under-supported, and there is no particular focus on perinatal mental health.
The result is that new mothers often have to navigate fragmented family health services that are not coordinated and have multiple entry points but no clear pathway for mums. In addition, support tends to be focussed on mental health crises and there is a lack of relational continuity with health professionals and community services.
Australia's family services identify distress but do not provide the extra support mothers need on an ongoing basis, meaning too many mums and their families don't connect with support services or disengage with them too soon.
What we are experiencing is not only a gap in support services for mothers, but rather a gap in how the system has been designed.
Why this matters
Supporting mothers should therefore be seen as a prevention strategy, as we cannot improve outcomes for children and family members without supporting the people raising them.
Maternal wellbeing directly influences the emotional development of children, and fosters a strong sense of attachment and safety. It also encourages family stability and supports mental health.
Few would disagree with this, but support for mothers and children in the early years remains neglected as a form of prevention. However, investing in services for mothers is one of the most effective ways to support children and reduce long-term pressures on other community services.
Our role in advocating for better support for mothers and children
Villagehood Australia is positioned at the intersection of the lived experience of new parents, the provision of community support services for mothers, children and families, and ongoing advocacy for reform of how perinatal mental health supports are organised.
Through our programs and community, we constantly engage with mothers and their stories, and so have unique insights as to what is working, what is not, and where mums are too often falling through the cracks.
In our advocacy, we use these insights to raise awareness of the very specific maternal mental health issues and challenges Australian women who are new mothers face, and highlight the gaps in the current system. We use our experience to contribute to public policy and reshape the conversation around perinatal mental health services, and advocate for earlier, more connected, community-based support.
Our work is grounded in the belief that the life experiences of mothers, children and families should be shaping how our support services are designed, rather than simply how they are delivered.
Our solution for mothers support services
Villagehood Australia is developing a new model of support that responds directly to the gaps mothers experience in current provision, and reconnect them to the system before a crisis point is reached.
This includes the development of the BESTIE Model, a mother-centred, peer-led, clinically aligned approach better enables mothers to engage with health and support systems.
The BESTIE model focuses on early intervention before mental health crises develop, and enhancing relational continuity so that mothers can access trusted, ongoing support when they need it. It also helps mothers to navigate and stay connected to health and community support services.
Rather than replacing existing health services, the BESTIE Model works in partnership with them by ensuring mothers and families can access, trust and stay engaged with support organisations that will assist them.
Advocacy for a system that supports mothers
Villagehood Australia advocates for support services that provide care for mothers and children early, before mental health challenges lead to a crisis. We aim to create a system where family services are not fragmented, peer support is recognised as an essential component, and the life experiences of Australian women and mothers is central to how the system is designed.
Impact of our advocacy and support for mothers
The aim of our programs and advocacy is to support mothers' mental health and wellbeing, enabling them to feel safe and reduce feelings of social isolation. Central to this is strengthening parent-child relationships and increasing mothers' engagement with health and support services. We are committed to preventing mums' mental health issues escalating into crisis by providing assistance that improves health and wellbeing outcomes for children and families.
Partnership and investment
The next phase for Villagehood Australia requires collaboration, partnership and investment.
We are currently working with mothers and families to design the next phase of our village-centric model, and pilot and scale the BESTIE model. The goal is to expand our programs and support services through digital and community-based delivery, and further integrate these with existing family services.
Villagehood Australia is seeking partners who share our vision of creating stronger families, delivering better social and health outcomes for children and young people, and creating a system that supports new mothers before problems become a crisis.
Creating family services that work for mothers
If you are a funder, advocacy organisation or policymaker, Villagehood Australia invites you to partner with us in the next stage of our development.
Together, we can support mothers earlier and strengthen families, and create more connected health and community services that reduce pressure on crisis systems.