‘The Holding Time Project’ is a rolling inter-disciplinary, co-created portrait of breastfeeding.The outcomes of the project include writing and performances by breastfeeding mothers, animated portraits as immersive installations, audio tours using narratives and interviews, a Youtube channel and podcast. The project has been shortlisted for this year’s Royal College of Midwives Excellence in Public Health.

These courses are designed to help new mothers, or anyone who has recently given birth, an opportunity to create poetry or prose from the experience of the post part period. With a particular emphasis on wellbeing, the process of creating new writing is an opportunity to make meaning form what can be a difficult journey to parenthood. In particular, the struggle to feed whilst recovering from birth, is a time when many find themselves isolated and grappling with a huge amount of new information.

Writing, as a therapy can help to locate and identify key moments in this journey, giving the experience shape and definition.

Rachel New, our writing coach is an experienced workshop lead with years of writing and radio producing behind her. She designed this series of sessions to help mothers navigate their new landscape of motherhood as a group.

These workshops support the wider Holding Time programme, aimed at normalizing breastfeeding, deepening public engagement and increasing social concern for the needs of breastfeeding mothers and those who tried but were unable to breastfeed.