New group to improve mental and physical health of first-time mums in Wigan

Nicole Messham has spent the last few months on a mission to get new mums focussing on their own wellbeing just as much as their baby’s, and is now turning her attention to the importance of physical health.

Called Nourish and Flourish, Nicole’s sessions will encourage more new mothers to reap the positive mental health effects that come with physical activity.

“Our meet-ups were created to beat social isolation,” said Nicole.

“They’ve been running successfully for the past two and a half months. We’ve had over 100 mums come through over the past couple of months. It’s really, really beautiful for mums to have a place to come.

“We end up chatting about babies a lot, but we also chat about other things too, that they might be too embarrassed to talk to other friends about, so it’s really nice.

“It’s amazing, there’s a really nice energy.”

On plans for the upcoming fitness programme, Nicole said: “It’s something to help mums get fit and healthy, post-birth.

“There’s a lot of things out there for babies, but I really wanted to create something for mums to reconnect with their bodies, their minds and their health.

“As a personal trainer, I know the value of looking after oneself.

“I think its incredibly important in the early stages of motherhood that we don’t neglect our health and strength, especially when we’re mostly running on about three hour’s sleep!”

She added: “It’s a mums only class, and it just gives them an hour of ‘me time’.

“We’ve created something where mums can learn about looking after themselves as well as their children.

“As a mum, you feel guilty sometimes if you think about looking after yourself. I’m trying to build somewhere that’s encouraging mums to take care of themselves.”