Miles for Mums & Babies 2026
A huge thank you to everyone taking part in APP's Miles for Mums and Babies challenge this year.
Here's just a few of our incredible fundraisers who have stepped up to the challenge in 2026! Click on their names to read more about their stories and add your support to their fundraising pages.
Melissa: Walking 63 miles to represent the number of days she received treatment for in both the Morpeth and Leeds MBUs.
Melissa says: 'I attended an online session hosted by APP where I spoke to multiple other mums who had been through psychosis too. Hearing their stories made me feel less alone and normalised my experience in some way and for that I'm grateful as it's helped me process what has happened and move into a happy place.
I'm now in a position where I feel happy, I'm enjoying motherhood and feel it's time to give back so that other mothers/families who go through this can continue to receive support.'
Jade: Walking a total of 43 miles over the month of May - the distance from her home to the Mother and Baby Unit she was admitted to.
'When I experienced postpartum psychosis, I was in complete shock as I hadn't heard of the illness. I didn't know it was a possibility following childbirth, so not only was I coming to terms with what had happened, I was having to learn about the illness and understand what my mind had gone through.
I will use the time I spend walking to reflect and to notice how far I have come and want to inspire other mothers who are experiencing the same.'
Jade uses her platform on Instagram to raise awareness of PP - you can follow her here.
Kathryn: Walking 75 miles in May
Kathryn spent one month in Nottingham MBU receiving treatment, and says 'pretty much every day between my husband, parents, brother, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and my friends, they drove the 75 mile journey to visit my son and I at the Mother and Baby Unit.
I had no knowledge or understanding as to what postpartum psychosis was before I experienced it myself. That is why, I decided to join in with the APP challenge - Miles For Mums and Babies for Maternal Mental Health Awareness. I have decided to walk 75 miles throughout May to reflect the journey that was made to see and support us at the Mother and Baby Unit.'
Kathryn is also sharing her journey to raise awareness on Instagram.
Jodie: 37 miles in a week
Jodie is a mental health nurse and she chose to cover 37 miles because it 'represents the 37 women that were admitted to the Mother and Baby Unit in 2025 that I work within'. Jodie smashed her miles target, completing it on World Maternal Mental Health Day and said several people stopped her during her walks to ask about her t-shirt - brilliant awareness raising too!
Heather: Family 2k/10k run in Chorley
Heather got her whole family involved with Miles for Mums and Babies. Her husband took on the 10k run while she and her daughter completed the 2k family fun run.
Heather says: I suffered with postpartum psychosis when my son was just 12 weeks old. It's something myself & my family had never even heard of and affects around 1 or 2 in 1,000 births in the UK. I was very lucky in this was caught early and after spending 6 weeks in the mother & baby unit and lots of after care in the 12 months that followed, I have almost made a full recovery. Action on Postpartum Psychosis has played a huge part in this, but some mums aren't so lucky and if not treated early this illness can become life threatening for mum and baby. I'll be running with Isla because she's been by my side through all of this and is the strongest little girl I will even know! Her resilience is phenomenal 🩷'
Olivia: Walking 68 miles in the month of May.
Olivia says: 'I am setting myself the challenge of walking 68 miles in the month of May because this represents the distance between my house and the nearest mother and baby unit (MBU) in Morpeth. My family had to drive this distance anytime that they wanted to see me and my daughter whilst I was at Beadnell for four months. My husband had to move across to Northumberland so he could visit me daily with the expense of booking local houses often for weeks or months at a time. Many families do not have the same support system so this can drastically affect recovery times and the bond between mother and child.'
Kayleigh: Completed the Sunderland Family Fun run with her husband, daughters and nephews!
Kayleigh has taken part in our Miles for Mums and Babies challenge for several years now, but this year she got the whole family on board too!
'I was a patient at St George's Mother and Baby Unit in Morpeth for 6 weeks which massively helped with my recovery as I was not separated from my baby. Some mothers aren't so lucky and if there wasn't a space available in a Mother and Baby Unit they would be placed in a General Psychiatric Ward and there are many parts of the country without. I'd love to raise money for Action on Postpartum Psychosis who campaign for Mother and Baby Units, so that women affected by postpartum psychosis can receive the treatment they need.'
Oxfordshire Perinatal Mental Health Team: 1,830 miles in May as a team!
They say: 'For a family in Oxfordshire , the average round trip to our 'local' MBU is 114 miles.
With around 16 women or birthing people within Oxfordshire requiring additional support like this in the perinatal period(based on national stats), this is 16 potential journeys:
- during a vulnerable and uncertain time
- to a scary and unknown place
- away from families and support networks
To help raise awareness, and money, towards support and resources for those impacted by Perinatal Mental Health struggles, some of those involved in Oxfordshire Maternal Mental Health are coming together to complete 1830 miles through walking/ running/ cycling/ swimming. That is the equivalent of 16 journeys back and forth to our local MBU!'
The Rainbow MBU, Essex: Walking a minimum 132,000 steps as a team during the month of May.
This represents the total number of miles it takes to get to our neighbouring Mother and Baby Units - 132 miles. They are incorporating walking groups in our ward timetable and some of the staff team are also walking to and from work.
The Beeches MBU, Derbyshire: 452 miles in May.
The Beeches team are no strangers to our Miles for Mums and Babies challenge having also taken part in it in 2024.
This year the team have decided to 'aim to walk, run swim or bike (however people want to get their miles in!) 452 miles throughout the month - the distance from the UK's northernmost MBU (in Edinburgh) to the most southerly (in Dorset).
At the Beeches we look after mums and babies and families from all over the country. Many mums and babies travel hundreds of miles to be together whilst mum is treated in hospital for a severe maternal mental illness. Dads, partners, families and friends may have to travel hundreds of miles back and forth to visit mum and baby.'
Lucinda: Walking or running every day in May.
Lucinda says: 'As someone who has experienced postpartum psychosis, I have first hand experience of just how devastating this illness can be and how needed this charity is.'
Ashlea: Walking 64 miles in the month of May - the distance from her house to the inpatient ward, then Mother and Baby Unit where she was treated.
Ashlea says: 'After my baby was born I became severely unwell incredibly quickly and was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis. It’s a very long story but I’ve made a full recovery and want to raise awareness for this illness and money for this great charity.'
Kelly: Walking 85 miles in May - the distance from her home in Gloucester to the MBU in Winchester where she was treated after the birth of her baby.
Chelsea: walked 51 miles during Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week to help raise awareness that all women should be able to access the mental health services they need when they need them.
Abigail: Walking/jogging 100 miles in May after her sister in law suffered with postpartum psychosis last year.
Abigail says: 'I’d like to raise awareness for new mums as well as families. This time last year, our family had never heard of it and now it’s an important time to be proud of our beautiful mum and baby in our family and help others.'
Thank you to every single one of our Miles for Mums and Babies challengers this year, and to everyone who has supported them. You are all amazing - raising funds and awareness that will help APP to be there for even more women and families in future.
It's not too late to get involved if you fancy joining in - you can take on a Miles for Mums and Babies challenge any time of year! Find out more and request a free pack here.