Why Support Mothers

Why Care For Women supports mother’s

Care For Women exists to come alongside women in the complex and challenging first stage of motherhood, by providing compassionate care and support through the postpartum journey.  Through dedicated in-home mentorship, we strive to enhance physical, emotional and developmental needs of both mothers and their babies. Our commitment is to create a supportive community that empowers women to thrive during the transformative phase of their lives that will ultimately eliminate social isolation and promote maternal and newborn mental health.

The stakes are high for mothers.

Supporting mothers during the postpartum period is important because it has significant impact on the physical, emotional and developmental well-being of mother and baby.

Social support is important because both mother and baby are vulnerable during the postpartum period. If isolated, mothers’ mental health can be negatively impacted, subsequently becoming highly susceptible to postpartum depression. Navigating the challenging and very stressful weeks postpartum alone increases the likelihood of a mother not having the capacity to meet her newborn’s physical needs as well as not attuning to their baby’s emotional state. Such stressful environments are experienced as highly stressful for a newborn and can lead to developmental and mental health problems across their lifespan (Hambrick, Brawner & Perry, 2019). Therefore, healthy and supported mothers means healthy and supported babies.

Watch Arsh as she lays out what happened with her son and what would have been a massive barrier without the help of her mentor.

 

Caring for mothers can have a truly generational impact.

The first six weeks after birth are precious, yet intense. Babies’ brains are developing in ways that they will form the foundation of their well-being for the rest of their lives. Simple acts of love and care for their mothers during this time can have an impact that lasts a lifetime:

• Relieving stress on mother means better mother-infant attachment and a better chance for baby to flourish and develop
• It is the most upstream way to address mental health, depression and anxiety issues we are facing today that are all influenced by mother-infant attachment

“So, as simple as this seems, the first, crucial step in creating a caring child, a future good citizen, is to care for his mother. Pregnant women need to be safe, nourished, and nurtured. They need to be surrounded by loving people who support them and ease their stress. After birth, mothers need ongoing and consistent relational support in order for them to best create a safe, nurturing environment for their babies. People mention the cliche “it takes a village” but practicing this is much harder than preaching it. The bottom line is that an isolated mother a distressed mother… We need to do everything we can to support mothers of young children, from making sure their basic emotional and physical needs are met to just hanging out with them and being available when they need us most.”
Dr. Bruce Perry

Become a Mentor

We are looking for mentors who can be a calm to the chaos.
A supportive voice amidst the doubt.
And a safe and loving presence to let our mothers and their babies know we care about them.

If you are a mother, you’ll remember what it’s like:

• Exciting to hold your precious new baby.
• Surreal because what you just carried inside is finally in your arms.
• Terrifying because your heart now lives outside of you.
• Exhausting.
• Intense because your hormones are on a roller coaster.
• Exhilarating because you just experienced the power of your body as it did the incredible feat of growing and delivering a baby (no matter how your baby decided to make their entrance).

Many of our mothers are facing difficult life circumstances.

• They’ve moved and don’t have family and friends to support
• They’ve faced postpartum depression before and are terrified of experiencing it again
• Some are single moms
• Some are in complex relationships
• Some are already feeling overwhelmed with the pressures and challenges of modern life
• All of them feel they need more support than what’s currently available to them.

Your simple acts of care and loving presence can be the calm that gets them through the chaos.

Become a mentor and make a real difference today!

Support Mothers Financially

Supporting mothers means supporting babies for a healthier and stronger community. Your financial gift helps provide the emotional, physical and tangible support to a new mother needs to flourish.
Donate today and see the impact you will make!