Introducing ‘Warrior’ for Maternal Mental Health

In support of Maternal Mental Health Awareness we are delighted to announce our new Warrior campaign, designed and created by our wonderful designer, Amy. Last year we launched our Believe in Happy campaign for Mental Health Awareness, and Amy has taken this one step further with her new range of products supporting mums who may be suffering with mental health problems.

Eager to help others who might be going through similar experiences to Amy, she is campaigning (along with us at Funky Pigeon) to let mums know they are not alone and support is there, should they need it. To talk about her new “Warrior” range of cards and gifts, and to share all the deets of the campaign, Amy answered our questions below.

Can you tell us a bit about Warrior Week?

“This year, in honour of maternal mental health awareness week, I am launching my new range “Warrior”, which is aimed at mums who may be struggling with their mental health. As per last year, I am planning a week of fun and informative events and fundraisers starting on Monday 29th April and ending on Friday 3rd May. I chose to call it “Warrior” to empower women and bring a can-do attitude and strong message to make them feel supported.”

Why is it important to you?

“This campaign is very important to me as I want to let all the new mama’s out there know that they are not alone and there are lots of people who can offer support if needed. My experience of PND will stay with me forever. It was hands down the worst time of my life but by going through it, I learned that there are so many people out there, family and strangers, that care and want to help – and now I am a much stronger person who appreciates life much more.

“It is extremely important to let someone know how you are feeling, be it family, a friend or a charity/helpline. They can help. Let them! Some people adjust to parenthood really easily but I found it very difficult. I had an established career and was fiercely independent. I liked to be spontaneous and go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted, with nothing and nobody tying me down.

“I thought that becoming a mother would change all of this and I would no longer be myself anymore. I would just be seen as a mum and nothing else. Basically, I thought my life was over. I felt extremely guilty and just couldn’t understand why I wasn’t over the moon at the prospect of becoming a parent when so many others desperately wanted what I was about to have and couldn’t.”

“It took a long time but slowly I started to realise that my life wasn’t over after all. I could still do all of the things that I did before but with a mini best friend in tow. It was a revelation. Now, I feel more like ‘myself’ than I have done in years and love being a mum. I am much better at managing my anxiety and depression nowadays and I find the most effective method is to take each day as it comes. Worrying about things in the future that may not even happen is exhausting and sometimes unnecessary.”

What should we expect this week?

“This year’s itinerary has been designed to honour and celebrate the strong, amazing women in our lives and learn how we can help support them should they ever need it. We have a massage therapist, a midwife, a counsellor, mental health support workers and fitness experts joining us throughout the week to share their knowledge and expertise.”

Can you talk about the range? What inspired you?

“The ‘Warrior’ collection aims to celebrate women and mums through bold, empowering cards and gifts with sassy, motivational, and inspirational messages. Because there is a warrior in all of us and each one of us can overcome any obstacle with determination and strength! For example we have created a “Tough Mother Tote” which is a lovely canvas tote bag containing a mug and coaster set, delicious Warrior chocolates, affirmation cards, Womenkind Pukka tea, and rose bath bombs to relax nicely from £26.99 only. It will make a great gift for any Warrior Mum out there!”

A word of advice for all the mums out there?

“My advice to anyone suffering is don’t be afraid to ask for help! I would never have asked for help if my illness hadn’t been picked up on, but I’m so glad I did as otherwise I wouldn’t be here now. Also, do motherhood YOUR way! Mama knows best ;)”

How much money are you hoping to raise?

“30% of the net profit made from the cards and gifts on this specific Warrior Mum range will be donated to the mental health charity, Mind. Any funds raised during Warrior Week will be split equally between two charities that are very close to my heart and played a key role in my recovery. They are “Bluebell Care” and “The Birth and Wellbeing Partnership”.

Shout out to your sponsors?

“The main sponsors to thank for this special week include Claire Nutt, the midwife who helped me, runs the charity “The Birth & Wellbeing Fund” and will be sharing with us what she does and the benefit of massage for mental wellbeing. But also on Tuesday we will team up with Hopper Coffee and Krispy Kreme to offer delicious doughnuts and fresh coffee at a discounted price to anyone in our building. Ruth Jackson from Bluebell Care will also be here on Tuesday talking to us about her amazing charity work. Our fantastic mandala workshop will be sponsored by the amazing folks at Cult Pens, Uniball and Maped.”

See our new Warrior range here. To see all the activities and fun planned for the week – such as our Rainbow Day, Wine and Cheese Night, or our Big Raffle – you can follow our Funky Pigeon Social Media under #warriorweek.