Right now, over 90% of mums report feeling lonely after birth*, and nearly half are experiencing high or severe levels of loneliness - levels known to impact their wellbeing.

This is the reality of motherhood in Australia. 

One in five will develop postnatal depression or anxiety, with isolation and loneliness being key risk factors.

These numbers tell a powerful story: postpartum connection isn’t a luxury - it’s a lifeline. 

This is happening because of the gaps in Australia’s postpartum care. 

The current support offered in Australia through council-led mothers groups is often time-restricted, limited in capacity, and only available to certain types of mothers. 

While council-led mothers groups are a great resource, if you miss it, there is no second chance and if it is not your first baby, the door stays shut.

Many mums are reporting that their council-led group is either full, or that they have stopped being funded - leaving connection to a postcode lottery. 

Alternative options for connection with other mums often sit behind a price-tag that mums on parental leave simply can't afford. 

Leaving connection to chance is causing what charity Mum Walk is calling The Connection Gap, and thousands of mums are falling through it. 

Having started just over a year ago, Mum Walk has had over 800 mums apply to start a Mum Walk in their area, with the potential to bring peer-led support to over 200,000 mums in their local areas. 

But without Government support and investment - those mums, and the hundreds of thousands of mums they represent - will stay on hold. 

Mums are clear about what works. They need free, local, in-person connection that isn’t left to chance. 

Thats why I am calling on the Health Minister Mark Butler and Assistant Minister Rebecca White to: 

• Recognise maternal loneliness as a public health priority y and include it in national perinatal mental health policy
• Embed free, peer-led connection in National Women’s Health Strategy 2020-2030  - ensuring free, in-person community support reaches every postpartum mother in Australia, regardless of her postcode, birth order, or timing.

Peer-led community connection deserves a place at the centre of Australia's maternal health infrastructure. Not on the margins of it.

Because no mum should be left to walk through motherhood alone. 

#MumsNeedMums

*stats are from Mum Walk inaugural Motherhood Connection Report - you can read the full report here.