All our groups are facilitated by a volunteer (see the groups page). During the day, babies and children are very welcomed and there are toys and games provided. In the evenings, we ask that only babies that are needing mum, for whatever reason, come to the group (there are of course exceptions so please make contact with the relevant group if you need to). We ask that Dads and other family or friends don’t come to the group to enable open discussion. There is tea, coffee and biscuits available.
The groups have a flexible friendly format. When there is a new mum, we always give a short introduction so you know who the others in the group are. For some mums, coming to the group for the first time is hard enough, so there is never any pressure to say anything although we often find mums are desperate to let someone else know what’s happening with them and that’s OK. Some mums might cry in the first few weeks they come, and that’s quite normal – others don’t. Don’t let that put you off coming – we always have a large supply of tissues. We chat about how our weeks have been, things that have been good or not. We often discuss issues with our children, our partners and our families/friends. We regularly discuss how we have got better – medication, counselling and other therapies including very much how we keep ourselves well. Sometimes we discuss our births. There is never a set subject and that’s what many mums benefit from as there is always time made available to get support for whatever is feeling big at that time.
Some mums will come for a couple of weeks, some have been coming since we started at Juno. In addition to our physical group, each group has a secret facebook group where you can get support even if you can’t make it each week and for some, that’s of huge benefit.
You don’t need to be referred – you can come at any time and dip in and out as you need to.
If you are worried at all about coming to our groups, our volunteers can meet up with you beforehand or at another mutually convenient time.
We ask that a small donation is made each week to cover our costs. If you can’t afford this, then please still come along as we are here to support any mum.