How we look after each other here

Breastfeeding, bottle feeding, pumping and combination feeding are all welcome here.

You will never be asked to cover up while feeding your baby, and a feeding photo will never be removed simply because a breast is visible.

Photos showing your body as part of pregnancy, birth, feeding, postpartum recovery or a medical concern are welcome when they are relevant to what you are asking or sharing.

Sexual images or unrelated nudity do not belong in the community and will be removed.

Birth injuries, stitches, scars, stretch marks, bleeding, breastfeeding concerns, postpartum recovery and births that did not go the way you hoped are all things you can talk about here.

Motherhood can be messy and vulnerable. You do not need to make your experience look pretty before you ask for support.

It is absolutely okay to say, “This is what happened to me,” or, “This is what helped me.”

Please do not tell another mother to ignore advice from her doctor, midwife, nurse or other healthcare professional, stop prescribed medication or delay seeking medical care when she has been advised to get help.

The community can be a wonderful place for support and shared experience, but it is not a replacement for professional medical care.

Advice that could put a mother, baby or child at risk does not belong here. This includes dangerous medical advice, false health claims or encouraging someone to delay urgent care.

If you or your baby may be seriously unwell, please contact your healthcare provider, maternity unit or emergency services rather than waiting for replies in the community.

Please do not advertise products, share affiliate links, promote your business or recruit members into programs, groups or business opportunities.

We want recommendations and conversations here to come from genuine support, not sales.

This also applies to private messages. Please do not contact members privately to sell products, services, courses, coaching or business opportunities.

Breast or bottle. Vaginal birth or caesarean. Sleep arrangements. Returning to work or staying home. Every family will do things differently.

You can respectfully disagree with information or ideas, but never attack, shame or belittle the mother behind them.

There is room here for different experiences and different choices.

No name calling, intimidation, pile ons, repeated targeting, hate speech or discrimination.

Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, religious hatred or attacks based on any part of someone's identity do not belong here.

You can disagree. You cannot make another person feel unsafe for being here.

Please do not share another person's private information without their permission.

This includes names, addresses, private messages, screenshots, medical information and photos of someone else's child.

Please also do not screenshot or share another member's post, comment or private message outside The Mama Years without their permission.

Mothers may share deeply personal things here. Please treat that trust with care.

Please think carefully before sharing identifiable or intimate images of your child.

Photos showing nudity, genital areas or other highly private content may be removed to protect a child's privacy and safety, even when the photo has been shared by their parent.

Do not impersonate another person or misrepresent your qualifications.

If you identify yourself as a doctor, nurse, midwife, IBCLC or other healthcare professional, your credentials must be genuine.

Professional titles should never be used to pressure another mother or override her own healthcare team.

You are welcome to talk openly about anxiety, depression, birth trauma, postpartum mental health and times when motherhood feels incredibly hard.

Content that encourages or glorifies self harm or suicide does not belong here.

If someone appears to be in immediate danger, we may step in and direct them toward urgent support.

Spam, fake accounts, repeated promotional posts and deliberately disruptive behaviour may be removed.

Please avoid repeatedly posting the same question or content across multiple areas of the community.

Every post and comment can be reported, and every member can be blocked.

Blocking someone is private. They will not be notified.

Reports are reviewed by a real person, and we will step in when something does not belong in this community.

If content breaks these guidelines, we may remove it.

If someone repeatedly ignores the guidelines, harasses other members, shares dangerous information or makes the community unsafe for others, their access may be restricted or removed.

In serious situations, access may be removed immediately.

Our goal is not to police mothers. It is to protect the kind of community we want The Mama Years to be.