by Nadia Ramoutar    MMM Communications Coordinator     27.03.2022

Recently, my 13 year old threw up all over the bed and himself. High temperatures from COVID 19 had made him very ill and I knew as I got him to the shower that most likely I would soon have the virus too. Less than a week later, I did have it. My son fortunately was feeling much better by then.

I think this experience shows what motherhood is like for many women. There is no one type of mother and certainly expectations of mothers have changed over the years and in different parts of the world. There is no agreement on motherhood to guide us. In fact, Mother’s Day is celebrated at different times of the year in various parts of the world. In Ireland this year Mother’s Day is 27th March. In most parts of the world it will be in May.

Motherhood is a very beautiful experience for many, but it is also a very challenging one too. My first child was born a week late in a hurricane. It was July 1996, Hurricane Bertha was coming to the area of Florida I lived in at the time. My water broke during the night and we went to the hospital. I remember being so surprised at how much pain I was experiencing. No one had warned me. I felt as if I would split in two. I wanted to have a natural child birth but that was not in the cards for me. The next morning the hospital was evacuated due to the oncoming storm except for the Emergency A & E department and the maternity ward. I was in natural labour for over 20 hours before the doctor announced I needed an emergency C-section.

I got to have a wonderful end to my whirlwind story. My son Devin was born a very healthy 9 lb 8 oz boy. We were both very fortunate. I know that many women in other parts of the world don’t have such happy outcomes from challenging births. Working for the MMMs, I have learned how many mothers don’t make it through childbirth and how many end up with horrific damage to their bodies like VVF. It is unthinkable to me that some women are accused of being witches and killed for having still births or disabled babies. I was shocked to learn how many women don’t survive child birth in this day and age.

It is indeed so important that the world learn to take better care of mothers. The women who are young and married off at an early age are very vulnerable to death during childbirth. We need to really encourage education in the poorest areas of our world where women don’t have easy access to medical care until often it is too late.

While many women will be getting chocolate and flowers this year for Mother’s Day, I hope you will join me in thinking of the mothers who risk everything to give birth and also give thanks to the MMM Sisters and other care givers who help save lives. I am very grateful to know that in their darkest hours, mothers can find a Sister to care for them.