Emotional wellbeing during motherhood

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303306

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS: concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)

Project title

Emotional wellbeing during motherhood

Full concept/idea title

Description

Becoming a parent is a huge life event. On social media it looks great, beautiful pictures of lovely babies. Can someone post the reality please? In this project we focus on the emotional wellbeing of women during the transition to motherhood. During this rollercoaster mothers (to be) experience different emotions, stress and anxiety. For us it is important to address the needs of this (vulnerable) group of women and make sure they get the support they need en deserve! 

What is the geographical scope of your concept/idea?

Does your concept/idea address mainly urban or rural issues?

Does your concept/idea refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations?

Has your concept/idea benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?

Which fund(s)? Please provide the name of the programme(s), the strand/action line as relevant

Has your concept/idea won an EU prize?

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes ?

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?

Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

Becoming and being a mother is recognised as a major life event in a woman’s life constituting paramount personal change in life. Becoming a mother involves attaining the maternal identity and role. To achieve this, a woman goes through the stages of commitment, attachment and preparation requiring practical and emotional processes. During the process of transition to motherhood, the woman’s existing equilibrium changes as well as a shift in her norms, values and thoughts about the meaning of life and of motherhood occurs. Acquiring the (re)newed role as a mother varies from the early stages of pregnancy up to four to 12 months postpartum. Therefore it is important to understand the needs of these women during this proces and provide the care they need. My project focusses on a needs assessment of mothers (to be) and gain more insights into the profession of the midwife and her role in supporting emotional wellbeing. In our first general study, to identify 'the problem', 64% of the mothers (until one year postpartum) reported reduced emotional wellbeing. Our sample in this study was 'an average' of the population: working mothers, good income, in a relationship, 2 children. So this isn't a specific 'vulnerable' group of mothers, for example with a low socio-economic status, but as you can see this 'normal' group of mothers is also very vulnerable and is not feeling wel. Clearly, mothers (to be) need better support and caregivers have to focus on their mental health. The aim of the following studies is to create more awareness about 'not feeling well' during motherhood, so not only focussing on depression or mental disorders but their general emotional wellbeing. Caregivers need to be educated about this emotional processes and more insights in how midwifes implement this aspect in their care is necessary. With these results, we can support the women in a more effective way and we support the caregivers in how to address this and implant this in their care. 

Please indicate the main themes of your concept/idea with 5 key words

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of environmental sustainability (including circularity) and how these would be met.
Please highlight how the concept/idea can be exemplary in this context

In terms of environmental sustainability, there is nothing more sustainable then good and efficient healthcare during the perinatal period. This includes a lot of different perspectives:

• Short term: It is important to prevent and diagnose mild/moderate perinatal mental illness. Early detection, but also awareness and normalizing, can avoid more pathological mental illness. For example an admission in a hospital can be avoided or consultations with a psychiatrist. 
• Long term: It is proven the first 1000 days of a baby are the most important and will define the rest of their lives. The fist 1000 days starts counting at conception. Stress, anxiety and not feeling well during pregnancy and postpartum can have implications for the baby/child: premature delivery, lower birthweight, emotional problems, behavioral issues, learning problems in school, ... 

So investing in mental wellbeing and the 1000 days of a child are the most important objectives of this project. A huge objective, but so important to focus on prevention and health promotion in stead of healing afterwards (more costs, more illnesses, less sustainable society). 

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met.
Please highlight how the concept/idea can be exemplary in this context

In this project we focus on experience and a real image of motherhood. The emotional rollercoaster of becoming and being a mother is so important to keep in mind when giving support as a healthcare professional. Because motherhood is a huge event in a woman's life, their quality of life and maternal life balance can change during this transition proces. Midwifes are caregivers who stand close to the mother and her family. When we aim for a healthy emotional wellbeing during the perinatal period, it is important to have more attention to those close caregivers who can build a relationship of trust during this vulnerable period. The results of our study already showed it is of great importance to have a relationship of trust, by continuity of care - for the mothers as well for the midwives - and so investing in a total experience. 

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion (equal opportunities, public participation, citizen engagement, co-design, universal design, accessibility, affordability, etc.) and how these would be met.
Please highlight how the concept/idea can be exemplary in this context

Healthcare should be accessible and affordable for everyone, especially when it comes to mental health (because there is still a main focus on physical health in stead of the holistic perspective). This project does not only focus on the support and education of healthcare professionals, but also the awareness in the general population. One of the aims of this project is to reduce stigma about perinatal mental health and to be aware not everyone is on cloud nine. When there is more knowledge and less stigma in the general population, everyone can be a peer supporter for a mother (to be) in their neighborhood. It is about spreading the message and normalization. This projects has the aim of helping every new mom: someone with a low socio economic status, but also the businesswomen who seems just fine (but is not).  

Please explain how these three dimensions would be combined in your concept/idea.
Please highlight how this approach can be exemplary

This project will combine the three dimensions on short and long term. The vision behind this research is important to all of us: maybe yourself, your friend, your daughter, your sister, your neighbor, ... When we invest in better emotional support during motherhood, we can avoid pathological mental illnesses during pregnancy and postpartum and make healthcare sustainable, increase positive experiences and less trauma experiences and this by including every single mom out there and make sure everyone can act as a peer supporter.  

Please highlight the innovative character of the concept/idea as compared to mainstream practices in the field of the concept/idea.

In this project we use new research methods to identify the needs of mothers (to be) and midwifes. We are not only conducting cross-sectional studies to present prevalence numbers, but we are looking for more in depth analyses and different perspectives. For example the Q method (Watts and Stenner) is used to identify the role of the midwife during the transition to motherhood. With this way of research we can identify different 'types' of midwifes to see what each 'type' needs to implement emotional wellbeing support in their care. To create awareness we use social media (instagramaccount, podcast, ...) and we developed an e-learning for healthcare professionals. The switch to online is necessary if we want to reach our target population. We did interviews with women who experienced perinatal mental problems and want to disseminate the results via I-poems, an other method te raise awareness and can be used in the education program of midwifes for example. 

Please detail the general plans that you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea.

With all the data and results I am planning to write a doctoral thesis because of the importance of this subject. My further research will focus on how to implement our findings into the education of midwifes. I am working at the university college of Antwerp and am keen to implement perinatal mental health more in the education program. Via the PATH-project (Interreg 2 Seas) we are collecting data not only in Belgium, but also in France, the Netherlands and UK. When we analyse these data we can have more insights into the emotional wellbeing of mothers (to be) in different (European) countries and the need of education for healthcare professionals.  

Imagine that your idea/concept is awarded in the New European Bauhaus Prizes 2022. What kind of initiatives would you take throughout the following year (June 2022- June 2023)

I would use money to disseminate our results to the target group and raise awareness in the general population. For example to develop the I-poems for healthcare professionals. But also to do further (international) research and create sustainable healthcare for every (new) mother by improving the education student-midwifes for example. 

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By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes 2022 in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.

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