Emily Armstrong a Tasmanian finalist in the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Awards

After a difficult experience as a first-time mother, Emily Armstrong created a support network so others like her have a more positive experience.

2024 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Awards Tasmanian finalist Emily Armstrong. Picture: Simon McGuire.

When Emily Armstrong had her child at 22, she said it was isolating.

“It was a pretty lonely experience,” Mrs Armstrong had.

“I knew that I wanted to do something but didn’t know what or how.”

A few years ago, she became part of a small Facebook group that fellow northwest resident Tegan Murphy started.

Mrs Armstrong eventually became an admin for the Facebook group and became more involved.“We started creating small mum’s groups within that Facebook group,” she said.

2024 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Awards Tasmanian finalist Emily Armstrong. Picture: Simon McGuire.

“Then we decided that because the demand was so high, we needed to do something else, so we started Mum’s Connect.

“We had 150 applications in the first 48 hours.

“We very quickly realised over a few weeks that the demand was too high for us to keep up with the way we are running it, so we are currently working on a better platform, which should launch in March.”

As a result, Mrs Armstrong said they had paused the group until the launch.

“Previously, we were just asking people to fill out a form and were creating mums groups of no more than 10 people based on location, age of child and interests.

“The new platform will be a lot streamlined, and there’ll be access to resources such as a recipe database and playground directory, plus an online community as well as the opportunity for smaller in-person mum’s groups.”

Mrs Armstrong said the demand for Mum’s Connect had surprised her.

“I think part of it is because there isn’t access to a lot of that stuff. I think Covid played a huge part as well.

“Antenatal classes were stopped through Covid, which was a starting point for mums to meet other people.

“The group has increased positive mental health, helped mums feel understood and reducing the isolation.”

For her work with Mum’s Connect, Mrs Armstrong is one of the Tasmanian finalists for the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Awards.

“I feel like it’s an amazing opportunity.

It’s daunting in its own right, but also really excited about it and the opportunities that it can bring for us to be able to help more mums.”

Mrs Armstrong hoped to grow Mum’s Connect.

“Our passion is the northwest and getting that right, being able to help as many mums as we can here, and ensuring that what we’re doing is working.

“But our aim would be long-term to be able to grow nationally.”