Working Life: supporting the wellbeing of new and expectant parents — and their babies

Dr Tess O’Leary, clinical psychologist, and co-founder of Nurture Network

Dr Tess O’Leary, clinical psychologist, and co-founder of Nurture Network

6.30am

Our three-year-old son Rupert is our alarm, whether we like it or not. We all get ready for the day before my husband Ian drops Rupert to preschool and I head to work at Enable Ireland in Sandymount .

8.30am

I work on a children’s disability network t eam and usually start the day by going through emails with a coffee. I work part-time with this team — four mornings a week.

9am

A morning might be given over to visiting a child at school, carrying out an assessment session or co-delivering an interdisciplinary parenting support programme.

I also have calls to make to parents or schools, usually to follow up on ongoing psychological assessments. These assessments are often helpful for families in supporting their child when they start primary school or move to secondary school.

1pm

Once I finish work, I collect Rupert from preschool and spend my afternoons with him. As Ian works from home, we usually try to get out of the house, going to the park if the weather allows.

5pm

Once Ian is finished work, we often head for a walk on the beach with the dog before dinner. We’re lucky to live near the sea.

7pm

After Rupert goes to bed, I prepare some social media posts for Nurture Network, a social enterprise my colleague Bairbre Fee and I founded last year after completing Ideas Academy, a three-month programme with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland. The aim of Nurture Network   is to support the wellbeing of new and expectant parents — and their babies — through a range of online resources, workshops and classes.

The concept came from our experiences as mothers and our work in perinatal mental health, and the Ideas Academy gave us the tools and seed funding to make it happen. 

The Ideas Academy was a great opportunity to reflect on how we want to achieve our aims and engage with the people we’re hoping to support. It gave us the confidence and motivation to turn Nurture Network into something real.

• Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary, is seeking visionaries for its Ideas Academy Class of 2024. 
• Apply at  socialentrepreneurs.ie/theideasacademy before the deadline of Tuesday, March 12.