Pint-sized Edinburgh artist gets creative to help pregnant mum struggling with ‘crippling anxiety’

Cara Milligen, 30, said carrying her daughter during the first lockdown “knocked her off her feet” and left her with “crippling anxiety” due to the uncertainty surrounding her birth plan.

The pregnancy was already complex due to a medical condition that increased the chances of miscarriage.

This combined with not knowing if her husband Gary Milligen, 29, would be able to be with her during the labour left the Edinburgh-based mum “constantly worried”.

After giving birth to a healthy girl named Elsie in October, the mother of two was admitted to St John’s Baby and Mother unit to receive support with her anxiety.

The young mother said she was apprehensive about going to the centre at first but the care she received was “incredible”.

She said: “I was being really hard on myself for having to be there and was feeling like I had failed.

“But they helped me see that it wasn’t my fault, that I didn’t choose for this to happen, and this really helped me.”

Art therapy was used during her recovery and Mrs Milligen decided to continue creative pursuits after returning home.

Knowing she wanted to introduce more arts and crafts to the family’s lives Mrs Milligen found an advert on Gumtree offering free cardboard.

After picking up the supplies the mother-of-two realised the cardboard would be perfect for making bookmarks.

Her eldest daughter Maisie, four, loved the idea and the pair have spent happy hours creating glittery bookmarks with four-month-old Elsie happily watching.

Maisie and her mum decided it would be a good idea to use the growing stack of bookmarks to give back to charity and Mrs Milligen posted on Facebook to gauge interest in the project.

The response was immediate and the mother-daughter duo have made over 100 custom-designed bookmarks for friends and family.

The young Frozen fan said her favourite bookmark was a glitter-covered design of Disney princesses Elsa and Anna.

The money raised has been split between two charities, St John’s Mother and Baby Unit and Gorgie Farm which is Maisie’s favourite place to visit.

Maisie was “very happy” to learn that the money she had raised would help feed her favourite Gorgie Farm residents, the Alpacas, for two months.

Mrs Milligen added: “The project has absolutely helped with my mental health, it's given me something positive to work towards.

“And I am so grateful to Philipa from Gumtree for giving us the card free of charge to do this project with.”

With no plans to slow down the pair have started a new creative project, again with the help of Philipa, and are fundraising for Pregnancy Counselling and Care (Scotland).

This charity will be providing love term counselling for Mrs Milligen as she continues to navigate the challenges of motherhood during lockdown.

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