Stepping into pageantry at the age of 38, as a working mother and humanitarian, is not about titles or crowns—it’s about visibility. Drawing from her work with Save the Children Thailand and her own lived experience of motherhood, Chanita Craythorne, better known as 'Sammy' shares why supporting mothers is inseparable from supporting children.
In this blog, she speaks candidly about the hidden emotional labor mothers carry, the dangers of neglecting maternal wellbeing, and her decision to speak openly about postpartum depression to help break long-standing silence and stigma
People often ask me why I chose to step into pageantry at this stage of my life, being 38 years old, married with one child, alongside my role as Brand and Media Coordinator at Save the Children Thailand. The answer is simple: I wanted a bigger platform to talk about the causes that matter most to me — children, families, and the women who hold those families together.
Through my work, I have seen again and again that many of the children we support come from households run primarily by mothers. When families are under pressure — economic stress, conflict, displacement, or lack of access to services — it is often mothers who absorb the weight quietly. Supporting mothers, therefore, cannot be separated from supporting children.
Their wellbeing is deeply connected.
However, motherhood, is rarely spoken about honestly. Mine certainly hasn’t been easy.
Like many women, I was taught to believe that a mother’s happiness is something optional — a luxury that can wait. Over time, I learned that this belief is not only wrong, it’s dangerous. There’s a reason airline safety instructions tell us to put on our own oxygen mask before helping others. If we are depleted, we cannot truly care for those who depend on us.
Chanita Seedaket Craythorne (Sammy) is a Brand and Media coordinator at Save the Children Thailand. She won the Mrs. World pageant title for 2025, when she represented Thailand on the Mrs World stage in Las Vegas, USA, between 23-29 January 2026. ©Thai Pageant/Save the Children
This became especially clear when I started speaking openly about postpartum depression. It is real, it is common, and yet it is still widely misunderstood. Many mothers suffer in silence, unsure if what they’re feeling is “normal” or worthy of help. That silence needs to be broken.
That is why I began working on a project called “Happy Mom Check.” The initiative uses the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as a tool to raise awareness — not to diagnose, but to start conversations. Working alongside a hospital in Thailand, our goal is to better understand the real factors behind maternal depression and to translate those insights into messages that the public sector can act on. If we want healthier children, we must invest in accessible mental health support for mothers. This is not an individual issue; it is a systems issue.
Technology also has a role to play.
When used thoughtfully, AI and digital tools can help reduce mental load — whether through planning, reminders, or emotional check-ins — freeing up time and mental space for mothers. At the same time, we must be careful. Technology should support us, not replace our judgement or dictate how we parent. Mothers deserve tools that empower them, not pressure them to be “perfect.”
This journey is not about crowns or titles. It is about using visibility to speak up for issues that are often overlooked, and to remind the world that caring for mothers is not indulgent — it is essential.
Because behind every happy child, there truly is a happy mother — and she deserves to be seen, supported, and heard.
At time of publishing this blog, Sammy represented Thailand on the Mrs. World Stage in Las Vegas, USA and won the competition.
A huge congratulations to Sammy on her win.. You can follow her journey on Facebook and across Mrs. World's Instagram.
