Vanessa Rio is the founder and director of Mothering Minds, the UK’s first network of psychotherapists specialising in pregnancy, birth, postpartum and the early years of parenthood. With a background in Linguistics and Psychology, and degrees from the University of Cambridge and the University of Bristol, she set up the platform after having her daughter in 2022 and noticing the gap in emotional and mental health support for expecting and new parents. We sat down with Vanessa to talk about motherhood and mental health.
Why maternal mental health support in the UK needs to change…
Can you tell us a little about your own journey into motherhood, and how it shaped your awareness of maternal mental health?
When I became a mum, I struggled with feelings of overwhelm, inadequacy and a loss of self. It started in pregnancy – the care was so focused on the child, and I often felt patronised and infantilised. After I had given birth, this only intensified. My husband went back to work two weeks after our daughter was born, and I was left to care for her by myself for most of the day. I fed, rocked, and changed her in one never-ending cycle on next to no sleep, and often felt deeply lonely. At the same time, I struggled to ask for help – I believed that I should be able to manage on my own, that all these mothers before me had done this, and that my overwhelm was a personal failing. It was only after I started seeing a perinatal therapist that I began to understand the biological and neurological shifts that were happening, and the clear need for collective support during this phase. I learned how common maternal mental health issues were, and understood that an individualist society like ours was a very difficult environment for new parents.
Were there particular challenges you faced personally that made you feel there wasn’t enough support for mothers?
Yes. Again and again I found myself wondering why I hadn’t been told certain things – the process of matrescence for example, or how to spot perinatal mental health issues early. When I tried to access mental health support via the NHS I was also told that my case was not very severe and it was unlikely that I could see anyone for three to six months. I started speaking to other parents about mental health and realised that so many were struggling and hardly any of them had been given access to talk therapy (although some were on months long waiting lists), while some had started taking antidepressants for the first time in their lives.
What inspired you to set up Mothering Minds?
I looked for a therapist privately but realised how difficult it was to find perinatal specialists. When I eventually found one, many of my mum friends wanted her number. Eventually, I set up a small referral service and found the demand was there. I went on an accelerator with Cambridge University to develop the business model and launched the platform officially in June 2025.
How does the platform work, and what kind of support does it offer to mums at different stages?
Mothering Minds allows you to book online talk therapy sessions on demand via our booking portal. You select a time and day that suits, choose a single session or a bundle, tell us anything you’d like us to know about your concerns, and check out.We then match you with one of our perinatal psychotherapists (all qualified and registered with professional bodies in the UK) who will be in touch with meeting details.You don’t need a GP referral, there’s no waitlist, and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.We offer support throughout the parenthood journey: from trying to conceive through to pregnancy, birth and beyond. We have clients reach out to resolve birth trauma from years ago, and others who reach out at the very beginning of planning a family, wanting to put support in place preventatively.We also offer couples therapy because relationships really take a hit in new parenthood.
In your view, what are the biggest barriers mums face in getting the help they need during pregnancy and postnatally?
A huge lack of information around what to expect – the hormonal and neurological changes, the identity shift, and the impact health issues, the birth experience and postnatal concerns (especially feeding) can have on one’s emotional health.The other is knowing where to go – the NHS is unfortunately severely underprepared. And private options are often hard to find – especially if one first starts researching when mental health issues are already present.
If you could change one thing about the way the UK supports new mums, what would it be?
I would love for talk therapy to become routine support for new mums. It doesn’t have to be weeks of it, just three sessions with a calm professional one or two months postpartum, someone who has the expertise to notice if a mother is struggling and could then flag her for more in-depth support.
Do you think maternal mental health is still stigmatised, and if so, how can we break that stigma?
Absolutely. Mothers are still expected to do it all, bounce back physically and enjoy every moment. There’s stigma around not loving or regretting motherhood, and so much pressure around providing a nurturing environment for the baby – when the only way to do that is to have a nurturing environment for the mother. I think we could break the stigma if we centre mothers, not babies. We need to focus on the women’s health, their birth experience, their pelvic floor recovery, C-section scar care, breast/bottle-feeding struggles, how much sleep they’re getting. A happy, healthy mother is the best way to get a happy, healthy baby.
For mums reading this who might be struggling, what’s one piece of advice or reassurance you’d give them?
It’s not your fault. You’re doing so much, loving so deeply, caring all day and night, and your environment is simply not set up to support you in this vulnerable phase. Mental health issues affect successful, bright and strong women, and they can be effectively treated. Get help. The sooner you reach out, the earlier you’ll find a way back to joy.
And finally, as a mum yourself, how do you take care of your own mental health?
I had extensive therapy after having my daughter. Now I spend a couple of hours in nature every day, and consider rest as a default for me – not something to be earned!
Read more interview here
