Two Carlisle midwives who both became mums in lockdown have launched a new group aimed at supporting new mums to stay connected with their community.

Feel Good Mama Meets Carlisle (CIC) aims to bring likeminded mums together over coffee and brunch and provide them with friendship and support throughout their motherhood journey.

The idea was thought up by Becky Carruthers and Jessica Allason, who met whilst working as midwives with North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Becky and Jessica both became parents during the summer of 2020 and struggled with the isolation and lack of activities available due to the pandemic.

Becky said: "Having both stepped into motherhood during a global pandemic, Jess and I were lucky enough to live in the same neighbourhood and so embraced the fresh air, exercise and boost to our mental wellbeing provided by many socially distanced doggy pram walks together.

"It was for us, like many others, a release during what could have been a very lonely time and allowed our motherhood friendship to flourish.

"In between lockdowns, we looked forward to attending as many baby classes as we could as we were keen to ensure our little ones didn’t miss out.

"Carlisle has many fantastic resources aimed at children, and the mum and baby groups currently on offer encourage parents and caregivers to make connections during the sessions.

"However, what we got up to in these sessions was a far cry from our previous pre-baby activities."

Becky is Mum to 11-month-old Nova and Jessica is mum to one-year-old Tom.

After some research with other new mums in Carlisle, the pair realised there was a gap in provision and set about creating Feel Good Mama Meets Carlisle, focusing on the needs of the Mums and providing social contact away from the baby groups and activities.

Jessica said: "As much as we love and cherish our children, we were US before we were mums.

"We wanted to create a community; a ‘village’ of supportive, friendly mums and combine our love of socialising and eating out, into our new mum life.

"We now know that motherhood brings a complete shift mentally, emotionally and physically and believe that mums need mums more than babies need babies.

"Mental wellbeing is at the forefront of all our Mama Meets events, sharing reminders that motherhood is challenging but we can support each other without losing our identity."

Feel Good Mama Meets also aims to support independent businesses in the Carlisle area.

Becky added: "It is important for us to boost our local economy as the hospitality industry has suffered so much over the last 18 months.

"Carlisle has some great, local independent businesses and we fear that if we don’t use them, we will lose them and our brunches and coffee dates will be kept to these vibrant, independent spots.

"We’re always on the lookout for receptive venues so please do get in touch if you’d like to collaborate."

Feel Good Mama Meets create ticketed monthly meet ups and are aimed at new and seasoned mums with children under two-years-old.

After four events since April 2020, Jess and Becky are excited to offer their first meet up for pregnant mums at the Old Bank eatery on 24th August.

There will also be a special event at Hidden River Cabins scheduled for September 13.

Anyone interested in joining Feel Good Mama Meets can access more information via the group's Facebook or Instagram pages (@feelgoodmamameets), or contact Becky and Jessica via becky.feelgoodmamameets@gmail.com or jess.feelgoodmamameets@gmail.com.