Crawley mum creates ‘non-judgmental’ space for mothers to meet and make friends
A young Crawley mum who struggled to find activities, specifically for mothers in the town, has taken matters into her own hands.
Meg Sinden, 25, has created a growing community group – which has already seen the majority of events sell out.
Meg founded Mabel & Mama Collective after becoming a first-time mum to her, now, one-year-old daughter Mabel and finding there was a lack of activities in Crawley aimed specifically at mums.
“I started Mabel & Mama after becoming a mum myself, following a traumatic birth and the huge adjustment that came with becoming a first-time mum,” Meg said.
"I wanted to create the kind of welcoming, supportive space that I felt so many mums could benefit from – somewhere to meet other mums, make genuine friendships and enjoy something for themselves without feeling like they had to do it alone.
"We’re now approaching our six-month milestone, and I’ve been so proud to see the community continue to grow, with regular events across Crawley including coffee mornings, walks, play sessions, pilates and mums-only socials.
"What started from my own experience has grown into a community of local mums, and I’d love to continue building something that helps mums feel less alone during what can be such a life-changing time.”
Meg said the idea came after she began organising informal playdates for friends from her antenatal group while on maternity leave.
She said: "I was on maternity leave with Mabel, who's my first child, and realised there's a lack of things for mums specifically.
"Obviously there's some baby groups. However, a lot of them are very structured in the way that the session runs. I found that a lot of mums used to enjoy the free flow time where they could go around and actually speak to each other."
Her friends encouraged her to turn the idea into a business, and Meg began setting up Mabel & Mama when her daughter was six-months-old.
She has now been running it for just over six months, with events regularly attracting large numbers of local mums.
Meg said: "It's gone really well so far. I've sold out quite a lot of events. My first launch event was sold out back in March and then I tend to sell out the majority of them."
Although the events are primarily focused on mothers, Meg makes sure there is something for babies and children too.
She said becoming a mum, particularly while on maternity leave, can be a lonely experience and she wanted the community to provide somewhere mothers could talk openly and meet others going through similar experiences.
"A lot of people don't really get the opportunity to speak about things,” she said.
"I tend to get a lot of guest speakers come in to speak to us."
The events have included talks from sleep experts and a therapist who works with relationships between mums and dads after having a baby.
One of the mothers who originally attended Mabel & Mama events later returned as a guest speaker to share her experience of postpartum psychosis.
Meg said the group was designed to be about more than simply bringing mothers and babies together.
She has also tried to make the events accessible to mothers at different stages of their lives, rather than holding them at the same time each week.
Meg said: "My events are a bit more spaced out.
"They're on different days. One week it'll be a Monday, the next week it might be a Friday evening for a mum-only thing.
"So whether you're working or if you're still on maternity leave, it's something that mums can come along to regardless."
A key part of the community is making mothers feel comfortable attending even if they do not already know anyone.
Meg said she regularly hears from mums who are nervous about coming along, particularly because they are worried about how their children might behave.
"I think most mums are definitely going through the same thing," she said.
"I have a lot of people message me like, 'Oh, I'm a bit worried to come along because my toddler's a bit crazy,' and I'm like, 'Don't worry. I'm dealing with a crazy toddler too’.”
She said the events were intended to be a ‘very non-judgmental space’, with many mothers attending alone and subsequently making friends.
"It's a really nice welcoming space that I've made and everyone that comes along is really lovely," she said.
"Worklife is not made for mums, so it's nice that I've been able to set something up that I can work around Mabel whilst also supporting other mums as well.”