How Women’s Voices helped Mummy’s Star build a campaign that reached Parliament

Turning their cause into a campaign

Mummy’s Star supports women and birthing parents diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy or within 12 months of giving birth.

The charity knew families affected by cancer faced an unfair gap in maternity leave protections. They wanted to campaign for change, but for their small team launching a policy campaign was completely new territory

They had a powerful message and a clear goal. What they needed was the confidence, strategy and communications expertise to turn that ambition into a campaign capable of influencing decision-makers.

Through Women’s Voices, Media Trust connected the team with experienced communications professionals who helped them refine their approach and build a clearer strategic foundation for the campaign.

Changing the pace of the project

At Women’s Voices 2025, Mummy’s Star worked alongside media and communications professionals who challenged and strengthened the charity’s campaign plans. The volunteer team included professionals ranging from roles at BBC Studios, Dentsu, Few and Far, Meta and MG OMD.

One of the most valuable pieces of advice that was given by volunteers was also one of the most unexpected from Mummy’s Star: Don’t rush. 

Rather than pushing the team to launch quickly, the volunteers encouraged the charity to take the time to build a strong foundation, test its messaging and think strategically about how the campaign could create long-term impact. 

That advice shaped the next 12 months.

Although Women’s Voices was a one-day event, the support didn’t stop there. Several volunteers stayed in touch, offering practical expertise that would otherwise have been difficult for a small charity to access. 

One volunteer helped improve the charity’s website and SEO performance, while another became a trusted sounding board for campaign messaging and development. 

For Keli Tomlin, Communications Lead at Mummy’s Star, that ongoing encouragement was vital.  

Armed with a stronger strategy, clearer messaging and ongoing support from Women’s Voices volunteers, Mummy’s Star spent the next year carefully planning its campaign. The result was a launch that delivered far beyond the team’s expectations.

A year later, MPs were listening

In March 2026, almost exactly a year after Women’s Voices, Mummy’s Star launched the Save Our Bond campaign.

The campaign asked supporters to contact their MPs and back changes to maternity leave legislation for families affected by cancer. The response exceeded expectations.

Within weeks, the campaign website had attracted more than 700 visits, a 350% increase compared with previous campaign activity. More than 200 people downloaded a template email to send directly to their MP.

On social media, the campaign reached more than 370,000 people and generated over 6,000 interactions in a single month. Compared with the charity’s previous awareness campaign, views increased by 800% and engagement rose by more than 240%. Incredibly, 65-80% of these new views were from audiences entirely new to Mummy’s Star.

The campaign’s influence quickly moved beyond social media.

Mummy’s Star’s parliamentary drop-in session attracted notably higher-than-expected attendance from MPs and parliamentary staff, which helped open up opportunities for real conversations with policymakers. The campaign has since being mentioned twice in the House of Commons and continues to gain interest from MPs, review boards and sector organisations. 

A growing movement for Mummy’s Star 

For Mummy’s Star, success wasn’t measured solely in numbers.

The campaign encouraged many women affected by cancer to share their own experiences online, creating powerful conversations about the realities of pregnancy, parenthood and cancer treatment.

Families reached out to say they felt seen, understood and less alone because the campaign existed. 

The campaign has also strengthened relationships with organisations across the parental leave sector, creating new opportunities for collaboration and collective advocacy. 

As Keli reflects: 

Building campaigns differently

While the campaign for legislative change continues, the impact of Women’s Voices has already reshaped how Mummy’s Star approaches communications.

The team now spends more time developing clear narratives, testing messages and building strategic foundations before launching campaigns. The experience has also given greater confidence to engage partners, volunteers and external experts throughout the planning process. 

For a charity entering policy campaigning for the first time, that confidence proved invaluable. Now over a year after Women’s Voices, Mummy’s Star isn’t just raising awareness of an issue. It’s helping shape the national conversation around cancer, pregnancy and parental leave.

Their campaign is a powerful example of what can happen when charities are offered access to skills, confidence and expert support to create campaigns that drive important change.

A huge congratulations to Keli and the team at Mummy’s Star. We can’t wait to see how the Save Our Bond campaign continues to grow and shape national support for families affected by cancer during pregnancy and early parenthood.