Please note: If you are navigating challenges during your pregnancy or post-pregnancy, please speak to a doctor or medical professional. 

"Giving birth is little more than a set of muscular contractions granting passage of a child. Then, the mother is born." 

Humourist, columnist, and author Erma Bombeck

As of 2022, the global birth rate stands at 17.668 births per 1000 people — a 1.15% decline from 2021. 

For some women, the gift of motherhood is a blessing full of unconditional love, a newly formed unbreakable bond between mother and baby, feelings of joy and harmony, etc. However, for some, it is not the happily ever after they have anticipated their whole lives and there are sometimes unexpected, distressing or even traumatic experiences new mums face which are often not publicly discussed. 

Exploring breastfeeding

The age-old debate around breastfeeding remains today, and is a very emotionally charged topic for mums.

The WHO report states, “Early initiation of breastfeeding, within 1 hour of birth, protects the newborn from acquiring infections and reduces newborn mortality. The risk of mortality due to diarrhoea and other infections can increase in infants who are either partially breastfed or not breastfed at all.”

However, for a lot of new mums, breastfeeding presents challenges such as physical discomfort while nursing or pumping, latching issues, breast engorgement, breast inflammation known as mastitis, as well as the anxiety of milk supply for your newborn.

Paediatrician Natasha Burgert explains that there is a tremendous amount of pressure put on parents to exclusively feed human milk. 

She says,“Mothers are often subject to moral-based language surrounding infant feeding practices which can increase the feeling of judgement. Comments like, ‘Breast is best’, or, ‘You must not have tried hard enough,’ painfully imply second-rate parenting. As a result, it’s not uncommon for parents to experience guilt or shame if breastfeeding doesn’t occur.” 

Farai Kawinga, owner of Zakho Tailoring and mother of two, shares her breastfeeding experience with AMAKA, “People should have told me that breastfeeding isn’t easy, that there’d be times my child will be crying and I just want the child to keep quiet and not put it on my breast. I wish somebody told me that I needed to work on breastfeeding because I don’t like it.”

Kawinga continued: “I think people also don’t explain enough that if you don’t want to breastfeed, it’s okay for the child to have formula. Yes, it’s good for the child to breastfeed exclusively until they're six month[s], but my children started formula at one month and sometimes they seemingly do better than the ones that were exclusively breastfed. Maybe your child will agree with the six months exclusive breastfeeding and maybe another won’t. I feel like it’s fair to say that.” 

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Understanding postpartum depression

Through the proliferation of social media, there have been more safe spaces to talk about the challenges of being a new mum, and more specifically postpartum depression (PPD, or postnatal depression, PND).

A 2020 analysis by Abel Dadi et.al on the Epidemiology of postnatal depression and its associated factors in Africa examined the condition. Globally, the prevalence of PND increased by 18.4% from 2005 to 2015. A PND prevalence of 19.8% was reported in a systematic review conducted in 17 low-and middle-income countries. Africa constitutes a higher rate of PND while on average — one in every ten women had depression.

The study further explains that the prevalence of PPD can be affected by factors. These include age, low household income, unwanted pregnancy, having emesis during pregnancy, depression during the first two trimesters of pregnancy, psychiatric problems during pregnancy, delivery by caesarean section, lack of satisfaction in marital status, and co-morbid conditions like anaemia amongst others. 

Furthermore, postpartum depression increases the risk of maternal morbidity, social problems, physical damage, and can sometimes lead to suicide. Although PPD is a huge issue on the continent, it is still under-investigated and undertreated.

The study reported, “Reviews that have been conducted in low-and middle-income countries did not include representative studies from Africa, and they were also outdated. There is a systematic review conducted on perinatal psychological disorders in Africa that incorporated postnatal depression as one specific objective. Therefore, we did the current systematic review and meta-analysis to present the pooled estimate and risk factors of PND in Africa precisely.”

Dr Fundafunda advises that first-time mothers need to not be too hard on themselves. She says, “My advice for first-time mothers is breathe. Just breathe. Brace yourself. Sometimes you feel like you’re going crazy, you just need a nap. It’s okay to have [the] baby blues but if you feel really down and sad after giving birth, please realise that it’s okay to talk to a doctor about that. 

You could have postpartum depression and there’s nothing wrong with that. You having postpartum depression doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you as a person…it’s just a hormonal thing so you should go and see your doctor about it.”

She strongly recommends that new mothers talk to their doctor or local medical practitioners about their experiences especially if they have any concerns or questions. 

Preeclampsia

For some women pregnancy comes with complications from the condition Preeclampsia. Preeclampsia typically develops after 20 weeks of pregnancy and is characterised by sudden-onset high blood pressure, severe swelling of the hands and face, excess protein in the urine and decreased urine output. Left untreated, it can lead to serious — and sometimes fatal — complications for both mum and baby.

Anna Nondo experienced preeclampsia during the pregnancy of her daughter. She shares, “I went for a routine antenatal check up and they discovered that my legs were really swollen up to my belly and my blood pressure was high. They had me admitted and scheduled a C-section after a day of monitoring.”

Nondo continued: “They gave me pain medication that made me sleep and so I only got to hold and see my baby a day or so after giving birth to her. When I saw her, she was so beautiful I couldn’t stop looking at her. I was still connected to the cannula so, of course, that made moving around and even feeding my daughter difficult. But the whole time I was asleep they [the hospital] took care of her in the nursery.”

Although preeclampsia is manageable with early detection and proper treatment, in rare cases additional complications can arise, including Preterm birth, HELLP syndrome, Eclampsia, as well as some others.

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Self-care and new mums

Dr Fundafunda emphasises the need for new mothers to rest and take time for themselves, as well as surrounding themselves with a good support system. 

“Get as much rest as you can, and this is not just when the baby is small. This also includes when you’re being a home person and a home mum. If you can afford a nanny or help, get them to help you with the little things or things like laundry so that you can focus on yourself and the baby. If you have time off work please utilise it to rest; if the baby is resting, please rest yourself. 

You don’t have to be in the house the whole day. If there’s someone that can take care of the child, maybe you can take yourself out to lunch. Just give yourself time to discover who you are as a person now because I feel like you [kind of] become a different person when you become a mum. The thing is, your life shouldn’t completely revolve around your child.” 

Although being a new mum no doubt comes with so many positives, there can be some unexpected challenging circumstances. Make sure to always look after your physical, mental and spiritual health, and surround yourself with a good network of support.