Posted By: Amy Tubb
10th November 2025
1 minute read
The Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) and Her Circle hosted a Complex Motherhood Forum event in Newcastle on Friday, 17 October 2025.
The Forum event marked the beginning of a major project funded by the National Lottery Community Fund that sees the MMHA establishing Maternal Mental Health Councils across the UK. Each council will bring together women with lived experience, community organisations, and healthcare leaders to co-design and drive practical improvements in how care is delivered.
The North East council, led by Her Circle, is the first and will explore how ‘complex motherhood’, including addiction, poverty, abuse, and trauma, affect maternal mental health and assess the care available to impacted families. The council will identify what is already working well in the region and highlight opportunities for more joined-up, compassionate, and effective care.
Amy Van Zyl, CEO of Her Circle, said: “At Her Circle, everything we do is rooted in lived experience, compassion, and the courage to create change. This partnership and series of events is a great step in helping to support system change for women in our region.”
This project marks an exciting new phase in the MMHA’s mission to ensure every woman, birthing person, and family affected by perinatal mental health problems received high-quality, compassionate care regardless of postcode or personal circumstances.
Nikki Wilson, CEO of the MMHA
The Complex Motherhood Forum brought together commissioners, policymakers, service leaders, clinicians, and women with lived experience to explore opportunities for system change in maternal mental health care in Newcastle and Gateshead.
It served as the official launch of the North East Maternal Mental Health Council and the first step in a process of co-production that placed lived experience at the heart of the system.
The Maternal Mental Health Councils initiative is set to roll out nationally, with future councils focusing on other intersectional issues such as young motherhood (under 25) and perinatal mental health care in rural communities.
Learnings from the North East council will directly shape how these future groups are developed and supported.
Women in the North East face some of the highest levels of deprivation and prevalence of maternal mental health challenges in the UK (OHID, 2025). By starting there, the project aims to learn from local strengths while addressing systemic barriers that disproportionately affect mothers and families experiencing complex circumstances.
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