Pregnancy is that moment of life in which fragility is mixed with strength, fear with courage and despair with hope. It happens every time, in every woman, albeit to varying degrees and entirely subjective. Yet, since the pandemic has shaken our lives, the experiences of expectant women have a marked common trait: a pervasive feeling of uncertainty, worry and more generally of stress. The evidence gathered in recent months at an international level has more frequently reported symptoms of anxiety, depression and psychological distress.
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“With the advent of the pandemic, women in the perinatal period (from pre-conception up to 18 months of the baby’s life) have become even more vulnerable, as the hypersensitivity typical of pregnancy has been, and still is, exasperated. from fear of an unknown virus; from uncertainty due to sudden changes in the scenario; and from the lack of a large part of social and professional support “, explains Cecilia Joy, psychotherapist expert in perinatality at the iGreco Ospedali Riuniti in Cosenza. Furthermore, the removal of the partner during the check-up visits and during the birth, as well as the initial concerns (now almost completely overcome) about the efficacy and safety of the antiCOVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy and in pregnancy did not help. feeding time.
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According to a study published in the medical journal Journal of Affective Disorders on some occasions the perceived stress has been so intense and high as to have undermined, affected, threatened the construction of that bond which, even before childbirth, unites and binds a mother to her child. This is confirmed by the data of a research carried out between March and April 2020 on almost 1200 women giving birth by the Mammachemamme voluntary association in collaboration with the iGreco Ospedali Riuniti di Cosenza and with the University of Calabria.
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“From the analysis of the experiences gathered – he clarifies Cecilia Joy, president of the association – it also emerged that a difficult process of attachment between mother and child, if not adequately supported, could have significant repercussions even in the postnatal period, since the relationship established during gestation between mother and fetus influences the quality of care addressed to the newborn “.
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Looking back on her pregnancy, Myriaam K. he says: “A news caught on the radio was enough, a message from a friend on whatsapp, the siren of an ambulance filtering through the window and puff, the mood fell, regardless of the seriousness of the reasons. I oscillated between ecstasy and discontent . One moment I was in seventh heaven because I felt the baby’s kicks, while others I whispered to him: “but right now you had to arrive.” from the idea that something bad was happening to me, to us, to everyone “.
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In Elisabetta R., the fear had crystallized in a ferocious form of detachment: “Concentrated on the envelopes, tormented by the possibility that the virus would settle on the surfaces of clothes, furniture, bags, my skin, my hands, I neglected everything that happened inside myself. I lived imprisoned in a sterile capsule. Only the mirror, which slowly gave me back a different image, reminded me that I was pregnant. Sometimes I hated that belly, sometimes I was grateful. Even when my son was born I didn’t know to do differently: when he cried I could not immediately take him in my arms, to tune in with him, for me he was like a foreign body and as such had to be sanitized. That intimacy terrified me “.
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The impact on the child’s development
According to recent estimates, even before the pandemic, emotional difficulties during motherhood and fatherhood were quite frequent: up to 20-25%. However, these are downward estimates, because they do not take into account an undeclared or not easily identifiable hardship. Sometimes behind, or perhaps together, the sparkling and glittering collective feeling that accompanies the narratives on pregnancies, there is a private person studded with fatigue and difficulty (which remains hidden in the cesspool of unspeakable emotions) and which we still struggle to recognize.
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Few aid is offered to women. Making the necessary distinctions, during the pandemic the problems were even more intense not only for external causes (the virus), but also for the (sometimes hasty) way in which women were treated: taken by the need to stem the pandemic and to contain the infection there were not many opportunities and spaces to offer support and support to new mothers. Sometimes online courses have been created. Most often, training meetings are completely skipped.
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And even at the time of birth, the mothers resigned faster and faster and greetings. “When I returned home, the silence of those days was not the voice of peace, but an enemy, a beast that, if I didn’t feed, came to bite me”, she says. Liz, a 28-year-old woman. “I didn’t know what to do or who to call. The clinic near the house was closed, the clinics worked in sobs, the visits to the hospital were sip”.
Unfortunately, in our society there is a total disregard of the psychological frailty associated with pregnancy. A mother’s mental health is questioned only when serious news episodes occur. Yet the mental health of the parents, especially the mother, is fundamental since the level of emotional, cognitive and physical development of the little one will depend mostly (but not exclusively) on the affective quality of the care received and on the bond generated with the primary figures. . “In the process of building the brain (which takes place mainly in the famous thousand days) physical needs are not the only ones that have to be met,” he explains. Angela Costabile, professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Calabria.
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“From birth, the child needs to interact with the environment and people, to benefit from frequent physical contact and close eye contact. This is why a mother’s ability to establish a secure attachment, to offer responsive care to newborns. and children, tuning in to what they say and the signals they send (whether facial expressions, crying, other sounds or movements) is essential: because it contributes to the development of the little one “.
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The importance of pre and post partum support
However, Cecilia Gioia concludes, “even if the bond began with some difficulty, there are several ways to recover the relationship, to heal wounds, shorten distances, mend tears. For this to happen it is necessary that the mother receives the necessary and adequate physical, emotional and professional support, both during the prenatal period and in the postpartum period “.
Respect for the physiology of childbirth is very precious, the possibility – in situations where the clinical picture of the mother and the child does not prevent it – to stay together and practice skin-to-skin contact, rooming-in day and night. , and Kangaroo mother care (KMC), as well as support meetings for breastfeeding and support in case of baby blues or depression.
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