Neomamme often cross moments of doubt and despair. Important help can come from the associations of “Mamme on pear”, which make their skills available to support other women looking for information and advice, but also just sharing
In a society of little friend of mothers and children, It is in solidarity from mom to mom that many newbies have found support and encouragement. Self-help groups, associations, mothers peer They guarantee women who are experiencing the experience of motherhood information, opportunities for meeting and sharing. A support that has not passed away in this difficult historical moment, thanks to the help of technology that has made it possible to continue to “meet”, at least virtually.
Neogens between stereotypes and reality
Once there was the enlarged familyand every woman had the opportunity to become familiar with the gestures of the care since she was a child, observing her mother who took care of the minor brothers, the cousin aunt, the neighbor who breastfeed in the courtyard or on the home threshold.
From the second half of the last century the company has changed deeply, there has been the boom in the artificial formula and it has begun to produce a growing mole of accessories and gadgets for the baby. The stereotype of the “good child” has rootedwhat he eats (in pre -established times), sleeps (in his cradle, preferably all night) and in the rest of the time he smiles blessed by his deedant/wheelchair/gym. A stereotype that often, when there is no experience of small children, tends to believe, and then discover that reality is very different. Why When the child was born, he knows nothing about times, accessories, gadgets: what he looks for strength and conviction is only … his mother. Contact, proximity, reassurance.
And here in the face of the little girl who seeks the parent’s arms immediately take the advice and judgments of the rest of the world, so the child “is spoiled”, “he took the bad habit of the arms”, “he must learn to stay down” (1). The result? Parents’ uncertainties and doubtswho wonder why their child wakes up at night, has an intense need for closeness, and why are the feedings so many … are they wrong something? Is their baby “strange”?
Find answers in sharing
Popular wisdom teaches us that to grow a child you need an entire village. Today that village is lost, Mothers are often sunthe family is summarized in the couple, and when you are only doubts and fatigue weigh much more. Even where there are grandmothers or aunts, frequently their experience is different from that of the newamme, since In recent decades the customs of maternalge have changed. This is the case, for example, of breastfeeding: many women who became mothers between the sixties and eighties have not fed on the breast, or they did it for a short period (mostly due to the incorrect indications received, which made it impossible to make breastfeeding work), and so they cannot share their lives with their daughters and daughters -in -law.
So where to find answer to all the typical doubts of the first times following birth? For many mothers, the solution were their “peers”, that is, other mothers who created associations and self-help groups to allow women to meet, confront, share experiences and knowledge. A virtuous circle of support, where every mother receives and at the same time gives something to the others. A precious opportunity to discover that the difficulties and fears are common, that the other children often wake up often, popp many times a day, in the evening sometimes cry, alone they don’t sleep well. And that even the other mothers, although persistently in love with their children, certain days feel very tired and certain days, perhaps, have a little desire to cry.
Precious help for breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is a natural gesture, yes, but it is not always easy and immediate. Proper information is needed to start on the right foot and prevent or overcome any initial difficulties. Breastfeeding is perhaps the most significant example of the great potential of the “from mom to mom” support. Let’s think about The Leche Leaguean international voluntary organization born in 1956 in the United States, from the idea of seven mothers eager to help other mothers to breastfeed their children. From the first meeting in the living room of one of the founders, the association has grown up to reach seventy -two nations, guaranteeing support for thousands of women all over the world.
In recent years, on the initiative of mothers, from North to Southern Italy many new associations have been created that have contributed to the spread of the necessary knowledge of breastfeeding, offering information on the management of feedings, both in the initial months and at the time of the first tastings of solid food, and after the first year of the child. This is precious information, given that in our society there are still false myths and prejudices still widespread who question the ability of the mother to nourish his child (“Are you sure you have enough milk?”) And the nutritional characteristics of the milk itself (“Are you sure it is nourishing?”, “After the first months it becomes water!”).
Women are reapprosing this gesture as ancient as the world, helping each other: Solidarity between women is filling that void of information and support which determined the early conclusion of many breastfeeding.
The self-help at the time of Covid-19
The health emergency has caught us by surprise, overwhelming certainties and consolidated habits. To pay a very high price were the future newcomers who found themselves welcoming their child in a situation of great concern and general bewilderment. Future Madri Sole at control visits, sun on the occasion of the ultrasounds and, unfortunately, in many cases only during labor and hospitalization.
Organizing meetings was no longer possible, but the associations, in really quick times, managed to “reinvent“To continue to be next to the new mothers even more in need of support.
Meetings for newamme and conferences with experts have “transferred” online, thanks to the digital platforms that allow the participation of dozens of women. And here on the screen many faces, mothers with children in the arms or breast, smiles, and the desire to help again, physically and yet close to.
