EMILY Main wasn't prepared for the anxiety that took over her life after the birth of her second child.

It wasn't until her son was six months old that she began to suffer from crippling anxiety, which made it hard for her to leave the house.

"I began to have a lot of intrusive thoughts around him," says the paediatric nurse from Cadnam.

"I was afraid that I was putting him at risk if I did something like go out. I became obsessed with germs.

"I think it might have been something to do with my being a nurse," she adds.

"Also, my little girl has lots of allergies and eczema and really puffed up when she was a baby, and I was very worried about him having the same thing, even before he was born."

Emily reached out to her health visitor when her son was ten months old, and was referred for counselling which, with time, has helped her to shed her fears.

"I found it really hard at the time, because I didn't know anyone else going through the same thing," she says.

"I was embarrassed, but as soon as I started talking about it, people said that they had experienced some sort of post natal mental health issues, or knew friends who had.

"It's a shame more people don't talk about this sort of thing, because it helps you to feel much less alone."

Emily tried to find a peer support group for women suffering like her, but could find nothing in the area. Her research led her to a group in the north of England, and she found that even just exchanging messages with the woman who ran the group was a great help and comfort to her.

She decided to set up a group of her own, where mums who were struggling could come along and talk about their issues but also have a bit of a break and know that they are with other women who understand.

A friend, Kirsty Coomb, runs Make & Brew cafe in Shirley, which offers craft activities alongside normal cafe fare, and suggested that Emily held her events there.

"I liked the idea of getting together and doing a craft activity, to give the women something to focus on."

The group is held on on one evening a month, and Emily has also recently launched a morning coffee group at a church, which mothers can take their children along to.

"It's really nice to have a chance to sit and chat," says Emily.

"We don't necessarily talk about postnatal issues but it's an option.

"My husband and family were very supportive, but a group like this would have been really useful to me," says Emily, who adds that she has felt well for the last six months or so.

"For me, it was self-perpetuating, so I stayed in more and more, when I really needed to talk to someone.

"I felt really embarrassed at the time, but one in four people suffer from mental health issues. Having kids is so overwhelming, postnatal mental health illnesses happen to loads of people, but we just don't talk about them."

Emily now feels well enough to return to work and says that running the group has been valuable to her recovery.

"It has really helped me to have something else to focus on," she says.

"In the midst of anxiety and depression, it can feel like there is never going to be a way out.

"Now I do get a bit anxious but not like before. I can go to toddler groups and soft play. Now my son can play wherever he wants. I feel like I've got my life back."

Emily's Mums in Mind group at Make & Brew in St James Road, Shirley, is held on the second Friday of each month, at 7.45pm, with a charge of between £2 and £3 per craft, with refreshments available to purchase.

Her new group for mothers and babies, offering tea, coffee and homemade cake, is at Shirley Baptist Church from 10.30am to noon on the third Wednesday of each month, at £3 per person.