Blue Planet is a big draw for viewers
“SOMETIMES ALL you want is to talk to someone – for someone to reassure you that everything is OK, and you can get through this tough spot or phase.”
In a world where Google can convince you that the most common of symptoms could require a trip to the hospital, and online support groups can leave you feeling the opposite of supported, a West Yorkshire mother has launched a new app to connect mothers around the world – using their voices.
Mumsanywhere has been downloaded more than 1,000 times in its first seven days since launching last Monday, and has been publicly supported by celebrity mothers including television stars Amy Childs and Imogen Thomas.
The idea is simple – members post a topic, query or comment using a 20-second voice clip, which other mothers can respond to, in real time, with their own voice notes.
For founder Claire Morritt, the mother of Joseph, four, and Gabriella, five months, it is the ideal solution for challenges she faced in her own pregnancies, which inspired the app.
Mrs Morritt, 34, from Wetherby, said: “My pregnancy with Joseph was textbook, everything was going exactly as it was supposed to be, until at 37 weeks, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I was well within a healthy BMI, had a healthy lifestyle, and it was a real shock to me. I immediately began Googling it and found posts on mums’ forums but they were all a few years old – what I wanted to do was talk to someone who was going through it then, like I was.
“It got my brain ticking – when you hear someone’s voice, there is empathy there, a connection.”
The idea stayed with her into her second pregnancy, when she “commandeered” web developers at her husband’s eLearning company, Webanywhere in Leeds, to develop the app.
She believes it has the potential to help new mums who might be lonely or isolated. Research by the charity Action for Children shows that more than a quarter of Yorkshire mothers say loneliness is a problem for them.
“I wanted to create a community where you can bounce off one another, moan when we have a bad day, and share out frustrations with parenting,” Mrs Morritt said. “There are a lot of mums out there that don’t have a great support system, and need a bit of reassurance.
“There are apps out there for meeting up with local mums but not everyone has the confidence to meet up for a coffee with someone they don’t know. They are the most vulnerable, the ones who don’t want to leave the house. But they still want to talk to someone, to reaffirm that what they are going through is totally normal.”
In the first week of launching, members have sought advice on a range of issues from breastfeeding to teething and sleeping through the night to weaning.
Mrs Morritt plans to add “experts” such as midwives to Mumsanywhere to give support post-birth, and with capacity for a million members, she hopes to see it grow. “We already have mums registered from as far as Australia, and my vision is to get women across the world offering support and advice,” she said.
“Becoming a mum for the first time can be a massive culture shock, but we all have one thing in common and that is our children. I believe so passionately in this and its ability to help mums who need a bit of reassurance.”
The latest episode of Blue Planet II has been the most successful of the series so far.
Sir David Attenborough’s wildlife series returned to screens on Sunday for the third instalment, and it attracted an average audience of 11m viewers, according to overnight figures. The hour-long BBC One broadcast about coral reefs peaked at 11.3m viewers, and had a 45 per cent audience share. The first episode of Blue Planet II debuted with an average of 10.3m viewers.