08-05-2025
Why statues are wearing 'forced smiles' for Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week
If you're a mum, you likely know the feeling of forcing a smile through exhaustion, anxiety and overwhelm. In fact, 58% of mothers say they don't think anyone realises how lonely they are, so they simply smile and carry on.
Plus, a huge 43% of new mums have never told anyone how they really feel, according to research by Tommee Tippee and women's social network Peanut. The survey of 2,000 mums found most fear being a burden or believe they should just 'get on with it', stopping them from opening up about their mental health. Yet, 75% of them experience difficulties including loneliness during the first three months postpartum.
The stats have been published during Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, with 'forced smiles' being added to eight statues of women around London to raise awareness about the impact. The yellow smiles were added to statues including the Bronze Woman, Emmeline Pankhurst, Millicent Fawcett, and Mother and Baby.
The campaign was launched to break the stigma of how hard motherhood is, with the research finding 69% of women reporting a loss of self, 63% experiencing a collapse in confidence, and 54% finding this time particularly isolating.
'Mothers are forcing smiles outwardly and then suffering alone across the UK,' says Michelle Kennedy, CEO of Peanut. 'Motherhood is the ultimate "Instagram vs reality" moment – and mothers feel they should be so happy to have a healthy baby that their feelings should be put on the back burner.
'This forced happiness is also making the situation far worse, as many don't realise that others are masking their true feelings too. We hope that this campaign will highlight to mums everywhere that they are not alone, they don't have to just "keep calm and carry on smiling", and that help is out there.'
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