11/09/2026
1992 Aricle!
One of the mums who comes to my classes sent me this old newspaper article. The woman featured is her mum.
She remembers being a little girl with mums and babies coming into their home for these groups.
Her mum had created a space for women to meet, talk and learn. They covered feeding, relationships, the changes that come with motherhood, with doctors and other professionals coming in to offer support.
Reading it really stopped me.
Because more than 30 years later… how much has actually changed?
Are we really listening to mothers? Are we really listening to women?
We have more information at our fingertips than any generation before us, yet so many mothers still describe feeling lonely, isolated and overwhelmed.
Pregnancy care is so focused on getting a woman and her baby safely to birth. Of course that matters enormously.
But what happens afterwards?
Who looks after the mother when the attention turns to the baby?
Who supports her recovery, mental health, changing identity, relationships, feeding, sleep and the enormous transition into motherhood?
Where is the village?
In 1992, this mother recognised the need for connection, education and support.
Over 30 years later, we are still trying to fill many of the same gaps.
We know more. We have more research, technology and information.
But do women actually feel more supported?
Maybe instead of asking mothers to cope better, we need to ask why the system around them hasn’t become better.
If you could change ONE thing about pregnancy or postnatal care in Ireland, what would it be?
What did you need that simply wasn’t there? ❤️
