Singing Mamas North Wiltshire is the latest in a growing phenomenon that is seeing women come together to sing for the benefit of their mental health and wellbeing.
This model of singing began in 2010 when nurse Kate Valentine relocated and couldn’t find a choir to join where she could take her children with her, so she was encouraged to start her own group. 15 years on Singing Mamas has grown into a thriving grassroots movement of women who are all committed to improving wellbeing through singing.
Local mum, Kathryn Crosweller, attended Singing Mamas sessions during her 2nd maternity
leave and within the first half hour of singing with other mums and babies she “caught the
Singing Mamas bug”, leading to her going on to complete the Community Leader training.
Now she is starting 2026 by launching her own Singing Mamas groups across north
Wiltshire.
Kathryn said, “Remember the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child”? A Singing Mamas
group is made up of women of all ages and stages in life, but at its heart are perinatal
women – pregnant women and those with babies. Every woman is welcome, whether she
has children or not, and together we form the village around perinatal women who are going through so many changes. We connect, we sing, we laugh, we cry – we come as we are and we sing because it makes us feel good! Come and sing with us.”
Singing Mamas groups already meet across Wiltshire including in Melksham, Salisbury and
Trowbridge, and Kathryn is going to be starting groups in Kington St. Michael near
Chippenham, Bishops Cannings near Devizes, and Charlton near Malmesbury in the new
year.
The Singing Mamas approach uses the NHS’s Five Ways to Mental Wellbeing and it
improves the lives and wellbeing of every person involved, from the group leaders through to the people who take part in training and classes. To find out more please visit
www.singingmamas.org.
