Nicola Somerville feels her happiest in the surf.

She grabs her surfboard and undergoes her personal form of meditation on the waves multiple times a week, something she could not have seen herself managing straight after having her first child.

Nicola is one of the Perth-based participants of Surfing Mums, a program that works to ensure new parents keep on surfing for all the social, physical, and mental benefits it brings, while providing a solution to the obvious need for childcare while they do so.

"The early days of postpartum can be really isolating and lonely, and returning to the things that you did pre-baby can feel like a million miles away," Nicola said.

"In the Surfing Mums community everyone understands and can empathise with the struggles of parenting.

"It can get you through some frustrating, tricky, and dark times of parenting, so it's been a lifeline for a lot of mums."

Exercise, spending time with others, switching off and getting outside are all easily cast aside when your weeks are filled with family, work, supermarket shops, grazed knees, and play dates.

But Surfing Mums has created a community across Australia committed to the fitness, confidence and mental wellbeing of young parents, and their minis.

A ripple effect

Surfing Mums launched in 2006 in Byron Bay.

Two new mums, Vanessa Thompson and Julia Carle, began "surf babysitting" sessions where they took it in turns to surf and then watch each other's toddlers.

Vanessa eventually placed an ad in the local paper to garner interest from other like-minded mums, which saw a dozen eager families join the weekly meet up.

Now, there are over 400 members in 43 groups meeting weekly across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, and there is also an offshoot in the USA.

President of Surfing Mums, Ana Manero, first joined the group in 2013 when her baby Julieta was just eight weeks old. Now, she called the program her "lifeline".

"When I first joined Surfing Mums, my husband and I had just moved here, and all my family are in Europe," Ana said.

"It's much more than just someone looking after your child, it's a community that's powerful to be around.

"We have a system where you know there's always at least two eyes on every kid, but we also help each other.

"It really helps you with your mental health, with your resilience and that sense of community that you wouldn't otherwise have.

"When you have a child, it can be quite overwhelming, but to be surrounded by other mums who are ahead in their parenting journey and showing you that it's possible to have fun, that's really empowering."

The perfect recipe

Melbourne-based psychologist Priscilla Floyd completed a thesis on the effects of exercise on psychological wellbeing, particularly in group settings.

She says the Surfing Mums program hits the nail on the head.

"The reality of parenting young children is often associated with a sense of overwhelm, isolation, challenges to identity, exhaustion," she said.

"It can even challenge self-esteem and your sense of self-efficacy, as traditional work and exercise which provide a sense of goal accomplishment take a back seat to parenting.

"Several recent studies suggest that the social experience of exercise has notable and possibly profound effects on the wellbeing benefits to be gained from exercise."

Ms Floyd says the Surfing Mums program is a wonderful example of a positive way to address all those stressful experiences of early parenting, and provides the right ingredients to support mental wellbeing, physical exercise, and social connection.

For Nicola, being part of Surfing Mums has helped her find her "tribe".

"Some of the mums have kids who are literally in their twenties, but they're still involved," she said.

"It's something that my daughter and I really look forward to every week."

Alongside the opportunity to access care for her daughter while she hits the waves, Nicola credits Surfing Mums with keeping her engaged in the sport she loves.

"It's so nice to be able to surf with other women. You feel supported, people cheer you on the way, they give you feedback.

"My surfing and confidence in the water has grown, I've developed meaningful relationships with the other parents. I feel so lucky to be part of such a special community."

ABC Sport is partnering with Siren Sport to elevate the coverage of Australian women in sport.

Sarah Burt is a journalist, host, presenter, MC, and boundary rider based in Melbourne with experience across television, radio, podcasting and print.