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.
05.02.23
UN New York, CSocD61 - The virtual event we are organizing as part of the 2023 UN Commission on Social Development will draw attention to the specificity of the situation
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
14.12.22
Despite the growing number of families headed by a single parent, single parents remain one of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to poverty, housing and energy deficits, and
23.11.23
On November 7th, we co-hosted an event at the EU Parliament on peripartum depression with MEP Maria Noichl.
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
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.
11.07.23
The EU Cost Action EurofamNet, of which Make Mothers Matter is a member, hosted its final conference entitled “European Forum on Family Support. Creating an Agenda for 2030” together with the Spanish Minist
27.06.23
MMM welcomes the European Commission’s new proposal addressing mental health and bringing a much-needed focus on various aspects of mental well-being. The proposal’s emphasis on mental health promotion, pr
04.04.23
Our Care on the Move conference took place at the European Parliament recently, where speakers from diverse backgrounds, ranging from academics, to policy-makers and representatives from civil society organizat