Rural mothers seeking support for their mental and physical health can now easily connect with support services through a new online health platform launched by national charity Motherland.
The Motherland Connect platform is supported by major partner nbn and focuses on providing women living in rural, regional, and remote areas with access to a comprehensive database of mental and physical healthcare services for themselves and their families. It is free to use at motherlandconnect.org.au.
In Australia, access to health services in rural areas is significantly more challenging than in metropolitan areas. Staggeringly, over 70% of rural mums reported in a recent Motherland survey that they have delayed seeking healthcare due to difficulties in accessing or finding appropriate services.
Data also indicates that rural mothers face reduced access to mental health support within their local communities.
The findings highlight the importance of Motherland Connect in consolidating support into a user-friendly platform, where women can search based on their location or postcode and be connected to both physical services and telehealth support across an extensive list of categories.
This platform represents a simple yet essential step in helping rural women find the services they need, regardless of their location. Motherland Connect won the 2023 Innovate with nbn® Grants Program Women in Regional Business Award which unlocked critical funding for Motherland to build the platform.
"At nbn, our purpose is to lift the digital capability of Australia. We do this through connecting people to the things that are important to them. That is why we are excited to partner with Motherland Connect and support the incredible work it is doing," said Sam Dimarco, General Manager of nbn Rural and Remote.
Kirsty Cordon, a rural mother and drover, spends months on the road with her family herding cattle across the south west slopes of New South Wales and the Riverina.
“Healthcare is a major challenge for us nomads,” Kirsty said. “Routine healthcare such as mammograms, pap smears and skin checks often get blown out of the recommended time to test and check.”
Many doctors offices in rural towns are overwhelmed and unable to accept new patients, leaving people like Kirsty and her family without access to basic care. “If something medical is needed I walk into an emergency,” she said.
“As a mother, I am pretty much completely isolated, with no family nearby, no regular playgroups… In the meantime life goes on with school, dogs, horses, cattle and humans all need something from me and it's easy to put yourself low on the long list, and the logistics and energy levels to navigate a medical system in disarray all too easily slips into the too hard basket until I can come up for air.”
Motherland Connect has specialist services and doctors offices listed, including telehealth providers, making it easier for rural mums like Kirsty to find the services they need. The platform features organisations offering mental health support, relationship assistance, pregnancy and birth resources, matrescence education, allied health, fitness, nutrition, parenting support, and more. Organisations listed include private businesses, government entities, not for profits, and charities.
Motherland's mission is to reduce isolation for rural mothers and improve mental health outcomes. Since its launch, the organisation has supported thousands of rural mothers and connected more than 320 rural women through Motherland Village, Australia’s first online rural mother’s group program.The Motherland podcast, which shares real and raw stories of rural motherhood every week, recently clocked a million downloads
"Mums are the backbone of our rural communities, and our charity will continue to advocate for them and offer suupport to them and their families in any way we can," Motherland founder and CEO Stephanie Trethewey said.
Motherland is focused on growing the support services listed on Motherland Connect and is calling on businesses and organisations that support the physical or mental health of rural mothers in any way, to list their services.
For more information on Motherland, go to www.motherlandaustralia.com.au
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