'Like Tinder for moms': The app that connected Winnipeg women looking for community, commiseration

Laura Prowse (middle left) and Taylor LaForce (far right) pose with fellow moms they met on the Peanut App. (Source: Taylor LaForce)

In the spring of 2022, Laura Prowse was seven months pregnant with her first child.

She didn’t have many friends who were new moms, and had a lot of questions about what was awaiting her on the other side of her pregnancy.

“I didn't really have anyone to turn to. My mother had passed away when I was 10, so I didn't really have anyone to ask,” she said.

That’s when an online ad for the Peanut app caught her eye.

The app is designed as an online community for women to connect throughout all stages of motherhood, from fertility to pregnancy to motherhood and through menopause.

According to a spokesperson for the app, over three-million women are using Peanut.

(Source: Peanut/Google Play)

Prowse became one of them. She made a profile and started searching for other moms in her area.

“It's almost like Tinder for moms. You get matches with new moms and stuff, and so the connections were almost immediate.”

The app shows women nearby who are at a similar stage of life. Users can send a wave or save a potential connection for later. Once two people have mutually waved, a connection is formed and they’re free to chat.

Prowse soon matched with Taylor LaForce, a mom in her area. Even though their kids weren’t of similar ages, LaForce’s warm profile and photos of her happy, smiling family drew Prowse to send a wave.

LaForce joined the app months earlier, searching for socialization for herself and her kids.

“The kids were kind of overpowering me,” she joked. “We needed to get out of the house, and I liked how this could incorporate both the kids and me getting the social exercise that we need.”

After exchanging a few messages, they met up for the first time at a park.

Laura Prowse and Taylor LaForce connected on the Peanut app in 2022. Both moms were looking for friendship, noting motherhood can be an isolating experience without the support of friends.. (Source: Taylor LaForce)

Months later, the two women have formed a bond, and are part of a larger mom social group that emerged from the app.

Both women have suggested Peanut to other women, and say they were surprised by how many have since started using it.

They say motherhood can be a lonely experience and connections like these are crucial.

“Whether you’re at home or you’re working or you have COVID hindering you or a young child and so in times, motherhood can be very isolating,” LaForce said.

“As a new mom myself, I actually am very verbal about mental health and postpartum. It’s a thing, and it happens a lot more than you think - the isolation and the depression,” Prowse agreed. “That's a plus with the app. It's very open-minded. You can speak about absolutely anything. No judgment.”

FRIENDSHIP CRUCIAL DURING MOTHERHOOD: PSYCHOLOGIST

Peanut is far from the only app offering similar matchmaking services for moms. Be it HeyMama or Meetup or even mom-specific Facebook groups, there are plenty of digital meeting spaces for moms looking to connect and commiserate.

New Jersey-based clinical psychologist Alexis E. Menken, who is on the advisory council for Postpartum Support International, said social support is key for new mothers, especially from other women navigating motherhood.

“Even for women who are not having a perinatal mood disorder, the role of other moms and friendships for those, I always call it ‘the mommy circle’ - it’s really necessary because it's so life-changing in so many ways,” she told CTV News Winnipeg in a phone interview.

“Every part of you is stretched, and there's no one who really gets that like someone who's going through it at the same time.”

According to data from Statistics Canada obtained in a 2018/2019 survey on mental health, almost one-quarter of surveyed mothers who gave birth or 23 per cent reported feelings consistent with postpartum depression or an anxiety disorder.

The sample size of the survey was about 13,000, with just over 7,000 people responding. Survey sample weights were applied so that findings would be representative of the Canadian population.

The survey also found one in three mothers who reported feelings consistent with postpartum depression or an anxiety disorder had previously been told they had depression or another mood disorder.

Additionally, 85 per cent of women who expressed having concerns about their emotions and mental health at some point since the birth of their child spoke to someone about those feelings. Forty-seven per cent spoke to a partner, friend, or family member, but not a professional.

Menken said moms who suspect they may be dealing with a perinatal mood disorder should reach out to a doctor.

“Reach out to a professional for help and get an evaluation. Don't be scared to ask. It doesn’t mean you have it, and always seek social support.”