A North Yorkshire mother who lost both parents within a year has helped launch a national campaign highlighting the hidden challenges of raising children without maternal support.
Malton’s Louise Kirby-Jones co-founded The Motherless Mothers charity and is driving its #Unmuted campaign ahead of Mother Loss Awareness Day on Friday, October 23.
The campaign urges women to share the moments when they feel their mothers’ absence most keenly, whether through bereavement, estrangement or illness.
Left, Louise Kirby-Jones co-founded The Motherless Mothers charity with her mother Angie, who died unexpectedly (Image: Supplied)
Adina Belloli said: "That’s why The Motherless Mothers exists—to create the support, understanding and community we know women need.
"Whatever maternal absence looks like for you, we want you to know there are other women who understand this life, and you don’t have to walk it alone."
She lost her mother, Angie, unexpectedly aged 21, then her father died less than a year later.
Years later, pregnancy brought the grief flooding back.
Despite asking for extra support, she found little understanding of the pain of becoming a mother without her own mum.
She co-founded The Motherless Mothers, a UK charity supporting women facing motherhood without maternal guidance.
Backed by MP Kevin Hollinrake, the charity’s #Unmuted campaign urges women to speak openly about when they feel their mothers’ absence most keenly.
Mr Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, said: "Mother Loss Awareness Day is an important opportunity to recognise women navigating motherhood without their own mothers by their side.
"The empty space left by losing your mum can take on a whole new meaning when you become a mother yourself and that grief can be difficult to understand.
Malton’s Louise Kirby-Jones co-founded The Motherless Mothers charity and is driving its #Unmuted campaign ahead of Mother Loss Awareness Day (Image: Supplied)
"I’m proud to support my constituent Louise and The Motherless Mothers’ #Unmuted campaign in giving women a voice and helping more people understand their experiences.
"The campaign is centered on connection, community and understanding, particularly when grief can resurface alongside motherhood.
"It is wonderful to see women coming together to build their own networks of support, ensuring no mother has to feel alone in navigating that loss."
The charity’s research shows how widespread the problem is.
A recent survey of 106 community members found that more than half feel their mothers’ absence every day.
Nearly nine in 10 said it often leaves them feeling alone.
The campaign gives women a voice on the charity’s “missing moments”: major milestones and everyday experiences when a mother’s absence is keenly felt.
They are not limited to Mother’s Day or childbirth.
The most common “missing moment” was seeing other women with their mothers and grandmothers in public.
Other painful moments included a child’s first steps, the anxieties of early parenthood and sleepless nights without maternal comfort.
Adina Belloli, co-founder of The Motherless Mothers, said: "#Unmuted is about giving a voice to something so many women experience but rarely talk about.
"For the 1 in 3 UK women entering motherhood without your own mum, it can feel incredibly lonely, but no woman should have to navigate it feeling that she is the only one."
The charity’s previous national research found that 95 per cent felt isolated or unsupported, 79 per cent said it changed their identity as mothers, and 67 per cent lost confidence in their parenting.
It also found that 68 per cent had their grief misunderstood or dismissed as postnatal depression or another condition.
The charity hopes #Unmuted will break that silence.
On October 23, women across the UK are invited to share a “missing moment” using #Unmuted and #MissingMoments.
The charity will also release a campaign film and images featuring real stories from its community and ambassadors.
For more information or support, visit themotherlessmothers.com.