Maternal mental health is important

Even today, in most public opinion, motherhood is considered a happy event, in which only positive emotions seem to be acceptable, while the negative ones are deemed detrimental to a woman’s role as a new mother, so very often they are not accepted or even acknowledged first.

This is one reason why the woman may feel alone and not understood, cannot find answers to her conflicting emotions, is in a state of confusion, is ashamed of what she feels, and thinks she has no right to feel them. Thus, instead of asking for help, she tends to isolate himself even more, suffer in silence and show herself without any doubts or faults. (1)
Unfortunately, sometimes these negative experiences have serious consequences: in the most severe cases of traumatic experiences during childbirth, one may even end up suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), due to extreme pain, the perception of uncaring and hostile healthcare professionals, coercive or non-consensual medical procedures, severe physical and verbal humiliation received from healthcare personnel and lack of information. The consequences can be anxiety, panic attacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, depression, rejection of places associated with childbirth, new pregnancies, vaginal delivery, disruption of attachment to the infant and sexual problems. (2)

There remains a strong stereotype of idealized motherhood, of a perfect mother with a natural and physiological maternal instinct, along with being a woman

There are, to be sure, psychological and character factors that can make a woman more or less susceptible to triggers, such as hormonal fluctuations, obstetric complications, absence of family and social support, or stressful personal and work events. These are compounded by additional factors such as the infant’s temperament, sleep deprivation, and false myths and beliefs about motherhood. (3)
Related to this is the cultural pattern of the idea of the total sacrifice of women, who must give up all needs as women to devote themselves to their unique role as mothers, under penalty of negative judgment from society.

It is not hard to imagine how all these traditional patterns do nothing but harm the mother-to-be and contribute exclusively to her isolation, with even more disturbing and dramatic effects.

Let us start then, with the careful study of the woman and the experience of what needs may be common to women during pregnancy, childbirth, and immediately after, both from a caregiving and emotional perspective.

In a survey involving a sample of 400 selected women in the Rome area, in collaboration with the Salesian Pontifical University of Rome, ASL counseling centers and several communities of new mothers, it emerges that the dominant feeling remains fear at the time of childbirth, the need for reliable and scientific information, including online, the importance of sharing experiences with other expectant women, of receiving social and emotional support, including in sync with the partner, who will play a key supporting role both in the pre and postpartum phase. (4)

Not all women report receiving adequate support throughout pregnancy and the perinatal period

A pivotal example of support whose importance is not yet sufficiently cleared is psychological support, to more easily express the presence of discomfort, or to duly consider all the emotional and practical aspects that a woman faces with childbirth or immediately after.

A preventive, rather than a supportive, approach is not yet widespread to equip oneself from the very first months of pregnancy with all the most appropriate tools to enjoy the whole experience, strengthen the woman’s self-esteem and abilities, and also to arrive at childbirth with less fear and pain.

In addition, the partner plays a crucial role in creating the most favorable conditions for supporting the woman, and it is important to involve him or her in every step of the journey, for greater awareness and concrete help in the experience.

Even in this area, it remains a cultural and environmental issue to reduce gender inequality and foster greater role exchange. Even in the brains of fathers who intensively care for their newborns, hormone production similar to that of women is activated, with similar levels of oxytocin. The role of caring for the child no longer belongs only or predominantly to the woman; today a man can perform the same tasks as the woman, who in turn can work. And the trend is moving toward a balancing of roles even in contexts that have always been considered exclusive to women, such as breastfeeding.

Natural actions such as breastfeeding after childbirth may not necessarily be easy, so it is necessary to provide specialized figures to support

The period immediately after childbirth is dense with emotion, doubt and fatigue, with the fear of making mistakes. Unfortunately, it is still common in some societies to question the new mother’s ability to feed her infant, questioning the quantity of milk or its quality in nutrition. Breastfeeding may struggle to get started and some initial difficulties arise, a supportive, encouraging context is important so that you do not feel alone, overwhelmed by contradictory information and with external pressures.

In these cases, one should not be afraid to rely on professionals who can support the mother in their breastfeeding experience and intervene specifically at each stage of the process. Breastfeeding should also be a peaceful time of affection, security, warmth and well-being for mother and baby.

With a view to all-around self-care, it is important to focus not only on health care but on women’s overall well-being, involving professionals in fitness, nutrition, sexual health, meditation and breathing techniques to coordinate the mind and body.

The main needs of pregnant women relate to increased awareness, being able to play an active role in the experience and to make more appropriate choices for their health and that of their child; more intense emotional support, which makes them feel heard and understood, even during the painful or traumatic experience of childbirth; and significant social support so that they do not feel alone, to share experiences and exchange practical information within a women’s network.

For these reasons, it seems clear that the woman should be the undisputed subject at the center of all-encompassing interventions through clinical, behavioral, environmental, and social support to develop any form of prevention and empowerment for pregnancy that starts from making the woman shine taking into account all her most valuable characteristics.