Isolated Country Mothers Project
The Cootamundra pilot project
Supporting parents of small children has been shown to increase positive family dynamics and greatly lessen the risk of later developmental problems for the child and the family unit. As well, current child protection research emphasises the importance of social connections, the breaking down of social isolation and the development of communities to children’s well being. The Parenting Group for Isolated New Mothers links new mothers from isolated rural communities so that they can experience formal and informal support in their parenting roles and have better access to services and information. Women in remote country areas have never been in more desperate need of support given the terrible extra stresses caused by the ongoing drought in NSW. It is envisaged that this project will not only benefit the Cootamundra/ Young regions but will be flow on to be set up in other rural areas.
A trained therapist who lives in Cootamundra facilitates the group. These groups will be closed at first and will have at least six mothers in them. The closed part of the group will run for 8 weeks, after which the mothers will be encouraged and supported to continue meeting themselves.A senior therapist from PIFA oversees the implementation and work in the group by supervising the Cootamundra therapist regularly.
The project supports and strengthens parenting roles and contributes to the development and well being of children by:
- Conducting a parenting group for up to 10 isolated rural mothers per year
- Forming strategic alliances with other professionals in the areas to identify, engage and work with this client group
- Training volunteer mothers in comparable communities to facilitate similar groups
- Evaluating the groups in terms of improved parenting capacity
The project supports women to manage the transition to parenting particularly in the context of isolation experienced in rural communities by:
- Mobilising mothers’ inner and outer resources
- Facilitating formal and informal opportunities to meet other women going through similar experiences
- Connecting new mothers with community supports
- Debriefing the experience of labour
- Normalising and containing the mothers’ anxiety
- Supporting mothers to think about their baby in the context of external stresses they are experiencing
- Making links between mothers’ own childhood experiences and their relationship with their baby
- Discussing expectations around parenting
- Discussing expectations of baby and how parents can assist their child to meet normal developmental challenges