"Postpartum". The expression is only known to medical students and women after childbirth. Rarely before. For several hours, the social network Twitter has been relaying the stories of mothers about their aftermaths under the hashtag #MonPostPartum. Far from the idealized vision of the days following the birth of a baby.
This movement does not appear on the radar of the debates. It has been rising for some time, corded to the demands of feminists who want to do away with the taboos of femininity, foremost among which are the rules. The door has really opened in recent days: Sunday, the ABC chain refused to broadcast during the Oscars an advertisement "too raw". Made by a brand of hygiene products accompanying the diaper suites, Frida Mom, it shows a young mother painfully going to the bathroom with the consequences of pregnancy and childbirth.
Tuesday, model Ashley Graham relayed on Instagram, saying she did not know that by becoming a mother, "she should change her own diapers."
View this post on Instagram
Raise your hand if you didn't know you'd be changing your own diapers too🙋🏻‍♀️ After all these years in fashion I never could've guessed that disposable underwear would be my favorite piece of clothing but here we are! No one talks about the recovery and healing (yes even the messy parts) new moms go through. I wanted to show you guys that it's not all rainbows and butterflies! It's been tough, but my friend Chelsea @cmrh and ceo at @fridamom is making waves and starting honest conversations. It's unbelievable the obstacles we still face talking about what women really go through. All their stuff she sent me has been a life saver.
A post shared by ASHLEYGRAHAM (@ashleygraham) on Feb 10, 2020 at 6:14 pm PST
It is the paradox of childbirth, which mixes with the absolute happiness to meet the child that one desired - the perfection of his features, the delicacy of his fingers, the mystery of his breath - the reactions of a body abused by nine months of work. Poorly aware of the physical and hormonal collapse, many young mothers discover the pain of "after". "Pain, blood, crying ... We are not prepared. It is the worst moment of my maternity, writes V.
Aurélie abounds: “not being able to sit down, not being well lying down or standing. Being afraid of going to the bathroom, losing blood for several months, falling hormones, falling hair. ”
No longer able to sit or be well lying and standing. Being afraid of going to the toilet, losing blood for several months, falling hormones, falling hair. The mental load. #monpostpartum
- aurélie. ♎︎♍︎ (@ madraykin1) February 16, 2020"Urinary leakage when we laugh, sneeze", because the perineum has supported the weight of a baby and amniotic fluid for three trimesters. Loukoum also mentions "trench pain worse than contractions, emptying of blood for a month is normal. The breasts triple in size the day after delivery, even the touch of the sheets makes you cry. You scream to death when you want to pee after an episiotomy ”…
Newsletter - The essentials of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
Françoise would have liked to be warned of psychological aspects, "that attachment is not automatic, and that even if we are not overwhelmed by this wave of absolute love for our baby, we are not not a bad mother. That this feeling will come later and that we are not alone in feeling this and feeling guilty about it ”.
Mother & Coffee tells of the pressure, including from her mother, who makes her leave the house despite the pain. "That's how, on D + 7 after a caesarean, I found myself walking around town, pushing a far too heavy stroller, to show people that I was fine when I just wanted to die at the bottom of my bed, with my baby in my arms ”.
That's how at D + 7 after a cesarean, I found myself walking around town, pushing a bcp stroller too heavy to show people that I was fine when I just wanted to die at the bottom of my bed, with my baby in my arms.
- Mother & Coffee (@motherandcoffee) February 16, 2020“I thought I had an internal hemorrhage as the pains twisted my stomach; I did not know that it was normal to have contractions weeks after childbirth when the uterus returns to its original size, "says Illana again.
“The hardest part was coming home, going back to work and coping with crying all day long. Alone. Helpless. Exhausted. Misunderstood, "writes Camille.
That attachment is not automatic, and that even if you are not overwhelmed by this wave of absolute love for your baby, you are not a bad mother. That this feeling will come later and that we are not alone in feeling this and feeling guilty about it. # MyPostPartum
- Colliot Françoise ✍️ (@ColliotF) February 16, 2020Many also recount obstetric violence inflicted by doctors, nurses, not listening to the feelings of the patients, who told them that "something was wrong".
This surge on Twitter is accompanied by frightened messages, which would prefer that "end the contest of who suffered the most".
To Masha, we will give the conclusion: “This # [hashtag] is used to release a locked word. I fell silent because of shame and the feeling of being so different from other mothers who seemed to manage everything perfectly. ”
#MonPostpartum is not a contest on who suffered the most as I have read. This # is used to release a locked word. I fell silent because of shame and the feeling of being so different from other mothers who seemed to manage everything wonderfully.
- Masha Sexplique (@mashasexplique) February 15, 2020
