The Motherhood Group has spent nearly a decade at the forefront of Black maternal mental health advocacy, co-creating spaces with Black mothers, listening to their stories, and challenging systems that too often fail them. Through peer-led support, therapeutic programmes, digital platforms, and national campaigns, we have engaged over 18,000 Black mothers across the UK.
This blog draws on insights gathered through that work – including in-person focus groups, surveys, community engagement events, and digital conversations via the Blackmums App. These lived experiences, shared by both mothers and health care professionals, also informed our recent collaborations with the Maternal Mental Health Alliance and Centre for Mental Health. What emerges is a powerful picture of the structural and cultural realities shaping Black maternal mental health, and the urgent need to reimagine support in ways that are rooted in community, culturally responsive, and safe.
Community, culture and connection
Many Black mothers tell us about a deep need to feel seen and understood; to belong to spaces that reflect their identity, heritage, and experiences. One mother said that feeling “welcome, heard, and not judged” wasn’t just about friendliness; it was about safety, representation, and shared understanding.
For some, predominantly white environments triggered anxiety, discomfort or hypervigilance. “I don’t feel secure in all-white spaces. A mixture of people naturally draws me in”, one mother explained. This is why The Motherhood Group places cultural connection at the heart of its support. We create physical and digital spaces where Black women are not expected to explain themselves or code-switch. Whether through therapeutic mother-and-baby groups, creative wellness events, peer support programmes or community listening sessions, we design spaces where mothers can show up fully and be themselves.
Online, our Blackmums App (now used by over 7,000 Black mothers) provides access to live audio sessions, group chats, culturally relevant content, and peer matching. It’s a space where Black women can connect, learn, and feel held. But we are also aware of the risks: mothers have told us digital spaces can reproduce exclusion if not carefully moderated. Content must be rooted in shared identity, sensitivity, and lived experience.
Systemic barriers in health care
While community-led spaces are vital, they cannot compensate for the gaps and harms mothers face within mainstream health care. Black women in our sessions have described the mental toll of navigating services that were not built with their realities in mind. For some, this meant feeling disbelieved or dismissed during labour. For others, it meant fearing judgement in postnatal mental health assessments. One mother shared, “I remember thinking: ‘I have to look decent, otherwise they’ll treat me worse.’”
Even when health care professionals want to help, they are often constrained. Midwives, bereavement specialists and health visitors have told us they felt unable to address the full picture of what Black mothers were experiencing. One midwife said, “They may be having issues with, for example, housing, which is not our area. But you’ll hear about how they’re not properly treated, and it always shows there’s lots connected and lots that we really can’t do anything about, and it’s really quite awful.”
The result is a cycle of mistrust, disengagement and unmet need. Intergenerational trauma – particularly when mothers had heard stories of neglect or harm from their own parents or grandparents – added to their reluctance to engage with services.
Designing spaces for healing
The design of a space can shape how people feel within it. We’ve seen first-hand that calming environments with soft lighting, comfortable seating, reflective facilitators and a welcoming atmosphere make a difference to the mothers we support.
However, it’s not just the setting but the people in the room that matter. When they attend The Motherhood Group’s events and speak openly about mental health, mothers describe feeling uplifted, validated, and empowered. One mother put it this way:
“I know I belong and have had the opportunity to feel nourished, listened to, or as if I’m part of something that will make a difference to other Black mums and families.”
Such moments can be transformative. Some mothers have told us that these spaces gave them the confidence to access NHS mental health services. Others said they began having conversations with partners, friends, or elders in their communities about mental health that they never thought possible.
Towards a different future
At The Motherhood Group, we believe that maternal mental health must be approached holistically. Our support must respond not just to the needs of an individual mother, but her cultural identity, the systems she interacts with, and the legacy of the care (or harm) she has received.
By building spaces that provide safety, cultural affirmation, and community healing, we are helping to shift the narrative. But there is still more to do, especially in the mainstream systems that too often reinforce inequality.
Real change will require co-design, curiosity, investment, and accountability. We continue our work in the knowledge that when Black mothers feel seen, respected and supported this can have a powerful ripple effect on families, communities and future generations.
Caroline Bazambanza is Research Lead at The Motherhood Group
