Mum-of-two Becca found herself feeling incredibly isolated following the birth of her children. Now, she wants to help new mums find ways to connect with each other, and has attended a round table for the Jo Cox Commission to talk about the importance of fighting loneliness.

“Feeling lonely after having a baby is a strange kind of loneliness because you’re obviously with someone – your tiny baby – for 24 hours a day. But they don’t give you anything back aside from the odd smile or gurgle. I think the loneliness comes from the shock of being thrust into a very new situation, and leaving behind a busy social and professional life that you were happy with.

Even if you’ve got friends and a decent support network on your doorstep it can be a really, really lonely time. I felt isolated from my old life and as if no one really got it, and even though I saw my husband every day he didn’t really understand what was going on. I’d see my friends and then they’d go back to work and I’d be on my own again with the baby. It’s relentless really.

I work teaching antenatal classes and I recently surveyed 925 women about their postnatal experiences, and the results showed that 79% of them felt lonely during this time. I was shocked by the time and so upset to know that people I could have reached out to were suffering and not doing anything about it. I thought to myself, this is ridiculous, so I’ve been trying to talk about it more on social media, and to the Jo Cox Commission, to get involved and help anyway that I can.”

One year on: how Jo Cox's legacy is changing the way we think about loneliness