Our member in Romania acts for Ukraine mothers & children

21.06.22

The ongoing conflict and resulting humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has had a devastating impact on the mental and physical health of mothers and their children, on both those who have fled and those who have stayed behind.

This is an especially acute issue because most of the people who have left the country are women and children (EU Solidarity Strategy to respond to the Ukraine crisis policy paper, Social Platform). MMM’s grass roots member, Mame Pentru Mame, based in Romania, has reported on the effect on mothers who have fled, and what they need as a matter of urgency. The organization is qualified to speak on this issue given Romania is a country that has received a large influx of Ukrainian refugees and has therefore been at the frontline of witnessing the struggles of mothers.

In terms of the impact on physical health, Mame Pentru Mame reports that the Ukrainian mothers they are helping, are in urgent need of pregnancy follow-ups, delivery and breastfeeding support. This lack of access to breastfeeding support and counseling has made it necessary for many babies to be fed formula milk which limits mothers’ choices about how they want to feed their child.

In Romania, there are local initiatives to help Ukrainian women who give birth as refugees. However, the National Immunization Program for Romanian Infants does not cover neonatal vaccines for these infants. This means that parents need to buy the vaccines, which are administered by pediatricians.

Mame Pentru Mame also reports that it isn’t only the physical health of mothers and children that is affected. Their mental health and wellbeing is compromised too. Refugee mothers are not just at an elevated risk of developing mental health issues due to barriers to healthcare, as pointed above, but also face high rates of exposure to sexual violence.1

According to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants and the American Psychological Association, the traumatic events that refugee children experience can have severe and long-lasting impacts, including PTSD and the fear that their loved ones will be lost or persecuted. The discrimination, language barriers and lack of education refugee children may face in their host countries only serve to aggravate these potential mental health impacts2.

These are all problems that have affected Romanian mothers for years…now Ukrainian mothers are affected too given they have sought refuge in Romania.

Safe medical abortion is legal in Romania but very difficult to get in public hospitals because many have made a commitment not to perform this medical procedure due to the personal beliefs of the physicians.

References:
[1] Bruno, W. J., Tringale, K. R., & Al-Delaimy, W. K. (2020). Mental health and access to care among refugee mothers relocated to San Diego: A Comparative Study of Iraqi and Somali Refugee Communities. Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 5(1).
[2] Khan, E. (2019, July 23). Mental health challenges and interventions for refugee children. American Psychological Association. Retrieved June 10, 2022.

Most read articles

Women at the peace table: international Conference

14.04.23

Make Mothers Matter, together with the city of Ypres, and its grass roots partners Mothers for Peace, Mama Kivu and the Vrouwenraad, is organizing an international peace Conference Women at

Lire plus

200 million hours spent by women and girls fetching water every day

23.03.23

UN New York - On the occasion of the World Water Day and the UN Water Conference, MMM highlights the impact of the lack of access to safe and clean

Lire plus

MMM welcomes first ever Human Rights Council resolution on Care

11.10.23

UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - Entitled ‘Centrality of care and support from a human rights perspective’, this landmark resolution was presented by the governments of Argentina, Iceland, Mexico

Lire plus
See all the articlesof the category

News from the MMM European Delegation

Empowering Families for a Better Tomorrow Insights from We Learn Everywhere Conference

13.02.24

This event, marked by insightful presentations and discussions, addressed the challenges and opportunities that exist in parenting within our complex society and highlighted the tools created to provide parents

Read more

Parental tools for mental wellbeing: join us in Brussels to find out the results

09.01.24

The "We Learn Everywhere" (WLE) project is a pioneering initiative that has made significant strides in promoting family well-being through education and support for parents and children across Europe. As this

Read more

A Green Deal must include a Care Deal – Maternal mental health under the spotlight at EU Parliament

23.11.23

On November 7th, we co-hosted an event at the EU Parliament on peripartum depression with MEP Maria Noichl.

Read more

Breaking the Silence on Maternal Mental Health

13.11.23

Make Mothers Matter launched a new video series on Maternal Mental Health, addressing mothers, their families and society in general. Our aim is to highlight the latest research surrounding maternal health in o

Read more

Call to action: make 2024 the EU year for Women’s Mental Health

09.10.23

In June this year, the European Union (EU) Commission announced a new high-priority initiative to address the mental health of all Europeans.

Read more

EU Parliament recognizes the need to include parents when combating child poverty
A milestone for MMM and partners

22.09.23

In a significant stride towards prioritizing family welfare, the European Union Parliament has recently released a comprehensive report (“Children first - strengthening the Child guarantee, two years on from

Read more