Postpartum Support Circles for Moms | [Association Name]

After giving birth, many women find themselves without support. To remedy this on her own scale, a resident of Doullens (Somme) is creating support groups. The goal: to talk without taboo about postpartum and everything that surrounds it.

In this room in Doullens (Somme) a group of six women, seated in a circle, take stock of the year 2025. One of them wants to leave behind the pressure of managing everything, like “work, home, shopping, meals“. Another, whose childbirth almost cost her life, would like to learn to know herself as a mother and “to know my daughter, because we had a catastrophic start“.

These testimonies are made possible by the Post-Parteam association, launched a few months ago by Sharmela Peuvrelle Nianzou, which organizes free talking circles around postpartum. While giving birth, the young woman fell.by chance” on a Canadian series, Workin’ Moms, which features similar meetings made up of mothers. This is where his idea was born: “I said to myself that it would be great to have the same structure in my city, I first created the group informally and, then, I created the association“.

The president of Post-Parteam emphasizes that women are supported when they are pregnant and until giving birth. But once they return home, they find themselves alone. “There is no systematic structure that takes over afterwards, during the postpartumshe laments. Qhen I gave birth, my family and my husband’s family were far away, we found ourselves alone and isolated, so a group like that would have done me good, that’s why I set it up“.

These talking circles do not have a regular rhythm but are held once or twice a month. Indeed, everything depends on the availability of Sharmela Peuvrelle Nianzou, who works alone: ​​”I manage the communication aspect, I take care of organizing the meeting, renting the rooms, canvassing health professionals“All these tasks take time and she also has to deal with her salaried job.

It is essential for the president to create a framework “caring and warm“where mothers can confide. If she recognizes that the medical environment is “competent“, an apprehension exists. “Sometimes ladies find it less easy to open up and seek help for mental health issues. Such a setting, with other girls who experience the same things as them, pushes them to confide, to talk about their lives“, explains Sharmela Peuvrelle Nianzou.

A healthcare professional is invited to each session to “enlighten“the women present, give them advice or direct them, if necessary, to a suitable structure. The themes are varied and also depend on the needs of the participants.”We can talk about your relationship with the body after childbirth, about how to manage the arrival of a child in the couple“, explains the president. The subject of postpartum depression is also raised, since the very goal of the association is to prevent this disorder by providing listening, support and help. “gentle activities“and a”aperitif in conviviality” also accompany these moments of exchange.

Thanks to this group, real connections are made and speech is freed, thus removing a weight from the shoulders of many of them. This is the case of Guillemine Lagadec, who finds a space to speak during these meetings.deeply“subjects related to motherhood.”The fact of living in the countryside means that we are more isolated, and here, we have a moment of meeting with mothers who live in the same area, and we feel accompanied and surrounded, I find that this is really something that is missing in the countryside“, she notes.

The association also attracts women from further afield. Cassandre Garni, from Lille, heard about this support group from family friends. After the session this Saturday, January 10, 2026, she even wants to go back: “it was great to be able to chat with other women about each experience. Because every woman is different, every experience is different too”. Mission accomplished, therefore, for Sharmela Peuvrelle Nianzou, who shares the dates of the speaking circles gradually on the Post-Parteam Facebook page.

With Julie Subitte / FTV