Baby Bible blogger running to raise awareness of postnatal depression

Olivia Siegl organised The Big Push herself and ran in aid of two charities - Acacia Family and Dads Matter UK.

The mother-of-two, aged 36 and from Great Barr, was diagnosed with postnatal depression when her daughter, Eva, was six months old.

She went on to create a Facebook group, that expanded into The Baby Bible blog, with a no-nonsense approach that would unite mothers who were going through a similar situation.

Now she has organised her first charity run to raise awareness of the support that is out there for mothers and fathers facing the condition.

"The amount of support I have received has been amazing, lots of people from my blog have been donating to the run too," Mrs Siegl said.

"I will be running with my husband and sister-in-law so I know that we will give each other loads of encouragement.

"The two charities I have chosen are fantastic and really help both mom's and dad's through difficult times whilst suffering postnatal depression. They are excellent services, and hopefully I can raise as much as possible for them."

Mrs Siegl hopes to raise £1,000 to split between both charities.

She ran between the bridges in Bridgnorth and Iron Bridge in Shropshire on October 3.

"Every penny raised will help both causes but most importantly raise awareness too," she added.

"You don't have to pledge a huge amount of money to make a difference, it's about offering that support to parents too.

"The great thing is that the money goes directly to help both charities and you can see the work they do first hand."

Mrs Siegl also explained how training for the run has brought about a new hobby for her.

"I've never done anything like this before but I've gone from hating running to really enjoying it.

"With this being my first time organising a charity run it has been a real learning curve but I can't wait to get out there and do my best."

To donate to the run visit www.justgiving.com/TheBIGPushEvent2015