Passionate about supporting mamas through pregnancy, birth & beyond, Peta Murray is the founder of new website Mama Bloome. Here we speak to the mama and entrepreneur about motherhood empowerment tools, the importance of a positive mindset and her top tips for new mamas.

When and why did you launch Mama Bloome?

I launched Mama Bloome late 2021 after realising so many new mothers I was meeting as I embraced matrescence didn’t feel supported, well informed or heard when it came to their birth or motherhood in general. I really believe that society has set so many negative foundations around birth and most women go into labour with so much fear that they couldn’t possibly feel in control or prepared to embrace the twists and turns that may be presented.

I wanted to provide a platform, community, tools and resources that will encourage mothers to stay informed, embrace their power and confidence and begin to shift this underlying emotion of fear to positivity when it comes to birth and motherhood.

Mama Bloome’s mission is to ‘support, empower and guide the modern mama’. How do you achieve this?

Mindset is everything. Setting positive foundations and beliefs around birth and motherhood is so powerful and builds a resilience that can manage and maintain this levelled mindset as you approach challenges through pregnancy, birth and beyond.

Starting slowly, as I am a mother myself and the juggle is real… I am hoping to carefully curate a selection of powerful tools to encourage and support a mothers positive mindset and support this with a community and platforms to compliment, build and encourage the growth and empowerment of every mother we can reach. Alongside these tools I am personally selecting products that I have craved or will be using myself to support my journey through motherhood.

How and why did you select the brands that are featured on the site? 

The selection of brands I have available on Mama Bloome have all been carefully considered. We look at how and why they are necessary for a mothers journey as well as their core purpose and mission. All Australian owned and operated, I also feel these brands really understand the Australian mother, her challenges and where there is opportunity to provide relief and solution while empowering each and every woman as she transcends into a life of matrescence.

The site offers complimentary positive affirmations for mamas. Why did you feel this was an important inclusion to your offerings?

Helping women to design their birth intentions and to help them approach birth in a positive mindset as well as developing peaceful habits and practices to support their entire birth experience is so very important to us. We hope these complimentary affirmations help to support, guide or set mamas onto a path towards a positive mindset. 

You are a mama of 1, with a second bub on the way. How do you juggle work and mama life?

It's hard. But it can be done. I have definitely not discovered that magical ‘balance’ between work and mum life in any sense, but my passion has not faltered and I get butterflies in my tummy when I hear a positive birth story, especially if Mama Bloome had anything to do with it! I think the trick for me is to take things slow.. mothers have been birthing forever and will continue to birth, so my mission to encourage positive mindset and empower as many mothers as possible will always hold a purpose.

What was the biggest shock of becoming a mum?

Breastfeeding. I knew it ‘could’ be hard, but I was not prepared for the journey we had ahead of us. My situation was a little unique, it’s said that being a “red head” leaves you more vulnerable to cracked nipples and painful challenges. So, as well as vasospasms the first 5 months were really rough. But again, this brings me back to the power of the mind and the drive I had to push forward.

I found support, I found my purpose and we managed to breastfeed for 16 months. I made decisions along the way to support my journey, introduced mix feeding or used a bottle if my anxiety was too much for that feed. Everyone’s journey is unique and I think trusting yourself and that motherly instinct is something to be encouraged and not ignored – we are all doing amazing, but we are all different! 

What would you tell your (first-time) pregnant self about birth and motherhood?

Birth is amazing, you are so blessed to have the opportunity to experience such a special journey with your baby. Trust your gut, you will face challenges everyday for the rest of your days now, but mothers really do know what’s right for their baby and it you’re not sure, just ask for help. There is a lot of white noise that will appear as soon as you conceive, take on board what resonates with you and politely block out the rest.

Did your interest in the pregnancy/birth/motherhood realm blossom when you became a mum or were you always passionate about this industry? 

My career has always been heavily centred on a creative path; fashion, marketing, PR and buying. But my love for birth probably kicked off 2-3 years before we conceived. I just found myself listening to podcasts about hormones one day and never looked back.. I think this is where I really built and set some truly positive foundations and mindset around becoming a mother and how incredible our bodies were.

I, like everyone else, have grown up watching the movies of women screaming as they birthed, while sitting legs up in stirrups. I quickly recognized this was beyond ridiculous and not reality at all. I have since realised that I found my path to a positive mindset and information ahead of pregnancy, birth and motherhood but unfortunately many mothers do not land on this path until it is sometimes too late, if at all. 

How do you see the site evolving in future? What’s your grand vision for Mama Bloome?

We have a lot of exciting plans in the works and lots of amazing tools and resources that will launch this year. Evolving Mama Bloome into a community and platform that offers support and positivity to mamas is the grand vision, aligning ourselves with products, tools and resources to support mothers everywhere and to really help them bloom[e]. 

What’s the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you about motherhood?  

YOU know best, not your mum, not your mother in-law, not your neighbour. You were born to be a mama, you are bringing life into this world and you know what’s best for yourself and your baby. Always trust that motherly instinct, she knows her stuff.

For more information about Mama Bloome, visit https://www.mamabloome.com/