Hundreds of mothers will come together for a community walk in Melbourne this weekend in a bid to raise awareness about motherhood loneliness.
The No Mum Walks Alone Community Walk will be held on Saturday at Treasury Gardens and is set to be an important moment of connection for mums, with 500 women registering for the event.
The overwhelming response reflects a “quiet truth” that motherhood has become “increasingly isolated, fragmented and unsupported”, organisers say.
The event is being led by charity Mum Walk and major partner The Memo and marks a national #NoMumWalksAlone awareness moment.
It urges stronger recognition of community-led care as a key pillar of maternal mental health, alongside clinical services and digital support.
According to Mum Walk founder Kimberly Kay, the walk is both a show of solidarity and statement of intent, “reframing connection not as a nice to have, but as essential infrastructure for maternal wellbeing”.
“Motherhood loneliness isn’t a personal failure of mums, it’s a systemic one” says Kay.
“It is about a society that has quietly dismantled the village and left mothers to cope alone. We have medicalised motherhood, digitised support, and stripped away everyday community, then we wonder why so many mums are struggling.”
In Australia, one in five mums experience postnatal depression or anxiety. Loneliness and social isolation are recognised as major contributing risk factors.
“From a clinical psychology perspective, social connection is one of the strongest protective factors against postnatal depression and anxiety,” says Frances Bilbao, Clinical Psychologist and Founder of Mums Matter Psychology.
“The early months of parenting can be profoundly isolating. A group like Mum Walk provides regular, low-pressure opportunities for new mothers to feel seen, heard and understood – and that sense of belonging is powerful medicine.”
The Melbourne-based walk on Saturday will bring together mums and babies, as well as supporters and advocates and aims to demonstrate the power of coming together as a community.
Mum Walk is a national charity that supports mums to find, join, or start pram-friendly walks in their local area.
“After my first baby, I experienced postnatal depression and felt completely alone,” says Carrie, a Mum Walk participant*.
“With my second baby, having instant, free access to community through Mum Walk was a game-changer for my mental health.”
Co-Founder of The Memo, Phoebe Simmonds, says the company is proud to support the campaign and support mums.
“We love our community, we love supporting mums and we love to be able to change the way motherhood is experienced and felt in Australia,” Simmonds said.
“What better way to show this than to partner with Mum Walk and walk together to show mums we hear them, we understand them, we stand for them, we are them.”
If you need to speak to someone now, you can reach Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or call Lifeline on 13 11 14. New parents can contact the PANDA support helpline on 1300 726 306.