MUM Alexandra Clinton has spoken of her lifelong battle with anxiety disorder after enjoying an ‘awesome’ morning with dozens of fellow mums.

Alexandra, 35, from Wilmslow, works for the NHS as a physiotherapist, and suffered severe post-natal anxiety when her 17-month-old daughter Roxy was born.

She started The Awesome Mums’ Brunch Club, (AMBC), a group which aims to help reduce the stigma around perinatal mental health, which affects up to 20 per cent of women.

Between 30 and 40 mums and their children attended the club at The Unico Lounge in Grove Street, Wilmslow on Thursday.

Mums met up over tea, coffee, cake and biscuits, Alexandra ran a Rhyme Time, a therapist gave free hand massages and there was a raffle.

Entry was £1, and a portion of what was raised will go to The Smile Group - thesmilegroup.org.uk - a local charity which provides emotional support to families.

“Every event we do I’m always amazed by how many people come along,” said Alexandra.

“To me the club is hugely important. It lets me take all the difficulties I've been through since becoming a mum and channel it into something positive.

“On a personal level, it gives me a purpose as it's hugely rewarding to know that being honest about how I feel helps other mums.

“AMBC is great way for me to meet people and feel part of the community. I hope other mums feel the same.

“AMBC is also important on the wider scale because mental health is still such a stigmatised subject; especially maternal mental health.

“I have suffered with generalised anxiety disorder and depression most of my life, so when I became pregnant I knew who to talk to and how to ask for support.

“But I know lots of people don't know this - so I hope AMBC gives people a safe platform to ask questions or speak out, and to be signposted to the right support when needed, such as health visitors, GPs and The Smile Group.

“There are other mums who come along who have had experiences of poor mental health after having a baby.

“Everyone's story is different, as people experience it in different ways, and have different support networks available.

“However, AMBC is aimed at all mums - we very much want to reduce the stigma by not having a clearly-segregated group just for people with poor mental health.

“Our purpose is to raise awareness of maternal mental health issues, but it's just as important to raise awareness of this in those who happily haven't experienced it for themselves - so they feel equipped to help friends or family who might be going through the same thing.

“Plus, there's a lot to learning about being a parent that can give people down days whether they have a 'diagnosed' mental health condition or not.

“AMBC wouldn't exist without the lovely team behind it.

“It used to be just me running it, and I thought I would have to give up after I returned to work from maternity leave as it was very stressful, but the lovely ladies who joined as trustees made it possible to continue - Angela, Danielle and Helen.

“I would also like to thank the staff at Unico Lounge for letting us take over and run riot in their venue! They are so accommodating and wonderful with the children and the mums.

“I also want to thank the businesses and people who donated raffle prizes so the mums who came along could win such fabulous treats.

“Without the mums who come along we would be nowhere. So thank you to everyone who is a member of our online group and comes along to the events.

“Smile Group have given me, and continue to give me, a lot of support through my journey in dealing with post-natal anxiety.

“They also gave me a lot of advice when I wanted to found AMBC as a charity.

“The ladies who run it are an inspiration. The rest of the money we make stays with AMBC so we can put it into future events.

“AMBC is run by volunteers, so all money stays with the charity itself.

“At Christmas we met Santa, on Valentine's Day we had a gift swap between mums, and at this back-to-school event we thought people could do with treats so we did a big raffle.

“Lots of local businesses kindly donated prizes which was hugely appreciated.”

The next Awesome Mums' Big Night Out is Friday, November 24, from 7.30pm to close at the Unico Lounge.

The next Awesome Mums' Brunch Club is the Christmas party on Thursday, December 7, from 9.30am to 11.30am.

For more details see the Facebook page bit.ly/awesomemumsbrunchclub