Author: Sophie Messager, 
Author title: Women’s Life Transitions Mentor, Bridging Ancient Wisdom & Science, Author of ‘Why Postnatal Recovery Matters’ (Pinter & Martin, 2020)) 

Description: In most of the Western world, new mothers receive almost no support after birth. There is very limited support from the health system, as well as from their families and communities. I believe this is the case due to multiple factors, but the overarching one seems to be that, as a culture we have become blind to the needs of new mothers. We have forgotten that it used to be normal, even in Western culture, to offer them a period of extensive nurture and support during the first few weeks after birth. There is also an unhealthy pressure for new mothers to ‘get back to normal’ as if nothing had happened. Resuming ‘normal’ activities as fast as possible during the postpartum is mistakenly perceived as a sign of strength. This results in women struggling to meet their own needs and those of their babies, feeling ashamed of not coping, and keeping it hidden, leading to a negative cycle of loneliness and self-blame. 

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