Hello, I’m Jo,

I am a mum of one, to my gorgeous baby boy Jesse!

My own journey in parenthood wasn’t the easiest… I experienced a loss during my first pregnancy and when we were fortunate to become pregnant again, I was told that the pregnancy would be "high-risk" due to my placenta not being effective - This meant

growth restriction for the baby, lots of hospital visits, and a huge amount of anxiety!

We were warned that I wouldn't get to full term, however, we were all surprised when my boy came a full two-months early; born at 30 weeks, he spent the first 45-days of his life on a neonatal ward.

Once we were finally able to take him home, I wanted to make up for lost time,

so was keen to participate in as many 'parent and baby' groups as I could find...

and I did a lot!

However, I was disappointed that there were no groups in my local area that...

1 - Covered a little bit of everything

2 - Had a focus on the wellbeing of the parent

I felt like this was a huge gap and overtime I learnt that there were many

others who would have benefited from a group with a wellbeing element.

Through discussions with other parents, I discovered that whatever

your journey into parenthood, all of us struggle at one point or another...

even for those who experienced a 'straightforward' pregnancy or their

'perfect' birth... you’re still taking home a tiny human with lots of needs

and are just expected to 'crack-on', which is a massively daunting task.

Most parents I met through groups just wanted a safe space to learn the basics,

have their difficulties heard, and find support from others going through it too...

and where can you find this now - SPROGS!

Our Story

The personal...

I have spent the last decade working within the NHS, as a registered mental health nurse; beginning my career on inpatient units before later transferring into the community. Over the years, I have been privileged to work with people from all different backgrounds and many complex presentations, ranging from psychosis to low mood and anxiety. Supporting people through life's difficult moments is something I feel extremely passionate about and I am always very humbled to be invited into people’s lives at such a vulnerable time.

Throughout my career, one thing that I have learnt is that mental health can affect anyone, and it is highly likely that some point or another you’ll experience something where your mental health and wellbeing is tested; this could be experiencing a loss or trauma, a change of career or redundancy, a breakdown of a relationship... or becoming a parent!

Becoming a parent is a huge life event, it opens up a whole new chapter of our lives and forces us to take on a whole new role. No matter how many conversations we have, how many books we read, or how many tik-toks we watch... we will never really be fully prepared to become a mummy or daddy... until we are one!

When you have a new little baby there will always be something that takes us by surprise and that's ok... I firmly believe it is a 'right of passage' for every new parent to come home with this brand new tiny human and think 'I have no idea what I'm doing!' Having a baby is an amazing and wonderful experience, but adjusting to this new way of life can have an impact on our own health and wellbeing...

and if this should happen then please know that it's 'okay not to be okay' - help and support can be found with SPROGS!

Our Story

The personal...

The professional...