Motherdom: An Insight into Maternal Mental Health

Undoubtedly indeed, exhaustion, inspiration and purpose form the basis of motherhood. An ultimate roller coaster that stimulates joy, sorrow, fear, comfort, but most importantly, vulnerability. With the need for woman to constantly prove oneself, cultural stereotypes form indestructible perspectives taking a toll on mental health. When placed in alliance, motherhood not only brings guards of confidence down, but successfully conceals struggle; mental struggle.

Anna Ceesay, a former BBC journalist, was one of many women to be victimized by societal standards. Anna, amongst many women, was conflicted between her motherly fidelity and mental wellbeing. Known to endure this conflict in silence, Anna, with exceptional admiration, sparked a vivid disparity between herself and the 20% of mothers that experience clinical depression in developing countries. Despite belonging to a British community, Anna was subject to anxiety proving the wide spread effect of maternal mental health undermining the term, “development.”

Voicing her conflicts from the standpoint of a woman in a fragmented mental platform, the former journalist encountered immoderate amounts of difficulty in solely accepting her need to acquire emotional support to pull her out of a place society so effectively buried her into. For someone so independent and bold, Anna felt helpless. Helpless in ways that defeated her unflinching public perception.

The lack of a mainstream platform to effectively express maternal mental health led to the establishment of, “Motherdom.” Acknowledged by Forbes, Motherdom is a platform to emotionally empower parents through the nurturing process of parenthood. As we consistently strive to comply with various principles, we fail to prioritize the emotional aspects that help create a favourable mental representation of ourselves. Anna Ceesay promotes just that. Motherdom is a fervent platform that encourages acceptance. Encourages acceptance in order to exude inner strength.

In an environment consisting of everlasting taboos, stereotypes and unrealistic expectations, the significance of mental health is habitually sidelined. Not only does Ceesay concur with the idea of mental health, but revitalizes the notion of advancement through acceptance. A notion that demands empowerment; both emotional and physical empowerment.