Thursday evening saw the UK's inaugural Active Pregnancy Foundation Awards that celebrated the people & organisations who support pregnant and postnatal women to become or stay active. The Awards shine a light on leadership, good practice, innovation, and research, recognising that pregnancy is an opportunity to influence not only women's health, but also that of their families and wider communities.
We are delighted when Active Cornwall were named Organisation of the year and Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (SASP) Moving Mums project managed by Claire Williams won the Community Project or Initiative of the year award. Samantha Lawrence from Active Cornwall was also shortlisted in the Moving mums Ambassador category.
'Moving Mums' Community Project of the Year
Delivered by SASP Health and Wellbeing Coach, Claire Williams within the Bridgwater Primary Care Network, Moving Mums is aimed at engaging with mums within the community. The programme includes a number of accessible activities, such as pre/postnatal circuits (which babies can attend), baby swimming, run for fun, and buggy walks that allow participants to access physical activity and social support for free, or very low price. While these sessions alone bring great value to the participants, they also allow Claire to build the trust that empowers vulnerable young women to feel safe to engage with 1:1 health coaching support. Claire has also helped women access childcare, get back into employment and take positive steps to self-manage their family's health and wellbeing. The Moving Mums project does not have an age cut-off for babies but is aimed at new mums while being inclusive of older siblings and toddler parents.
A quote from one of "Claire's mums" who came to the project demonstrates the positive impact the project is having on new mums physical and mental wellbeing.
"When I met Claire, I was not leaving the house after a tough 2 years with my son, and my brother passing away from a condition I also have. Over this time, I managed to pile on 10 stone! As of today, I have lost 2 stone, 6lbs. My lifestyle is really different to a year ago and I actually enjoy exercise. I would be happy to speak to anyone who is finding it difficult to leave the house or is just starting out".
Claire Williams said;
"Moving Mums really is the most amazing project to manage!
I loved the name Moving Mums as I wanted to establish a healthy relationship towards movement. I wanted to take that fear away from parents that you have to run around a field to be healthy! I always tell parents any movement is better than none! I feel passionate about helping parents feel less isolated and witnessing the positive effects of exercising. It's inspiring to see any individual start their fitness journey and even more so when they have little ones in tow. Moving Mums now offers an activity everyday either for free or at a very low cost.
I am devoted to my role and developing the project to broaden opportunities for parents and am really proud to have won this award".
For more details on Moving Mums sessions, please visit: www.sasp.co.uk/moving-mums
Active Cornwall Organisation of the Year
Active Cornwall is proactively working with key organisations within Cornwall to support more people to become or remain active during pregnancy and beyond.
Work that has been undertaken includes upskilling professionals from across maternity services, HomeStart Kernow, leisure, fitness, Public Health and health visiting to be This Mum Moves Ambassadors so they are now able to confidently have conversations about physical activity, deliver cascade awareness to their colleagues and be part of a network of local advocates to support families. Active Cornwall proactively supports the local network of ambassadors with regular network meetings, a local Facebook group and email bulletins to maintain momentum, knowledge and connect key professionals within the system.
Active Cornwall work with Healthwatch Cornwall to develop content focused on antenatal wellness as part of the new Kernow Parenting Journey which covers the period from planning for pregnancy to two years old. Physical activity content will feature alongside information on healthy eating, pelvis and pelvic health and mental health and is part of the Pregnancy Circle (maternity led group sessions), and on a Kernow Parenting Journey website. Face-to-face sessions will also include physical activity and movement opportunities.
Active Cornwall is also actively working to promote the use of the new Get Active Questionnaire for Pregnancy (GAQ-P). It has been shared across the local leisure and fitness professional network as well as the multi-agency group leading the local maternity transformation programme.
Active Cornwall has a dedicated page on its website for all pregnant or post-natal people, or those working with them, to provide information, advice and opportunities to be active and is working closely with local leisure providers to help them to access further training and understanding to develop environments and opportunities suitable for pre and post-natal people.
Active Cornwall is also actively having conversations with key partners across Cornwall about the barriers that pregnant and post-natal people face when it comes to participating in physical activity and questions were included in a recent Public Health post-partum service survey to gather information on this specifically. A website page for professionals to gain more understanding of this topic has been developed.
To learn more about the Active Pregnancy Foundation visit https://www.activepregnancyfoundation.org/
