“Ferdinand came into the world on September 25, 2020 and I took the biggest slap of my life.
And then I thought: but why hadn't anyone told me?
Why hadn't I been told I was going to die?
On the day of delivery, it's not only the child who will be born, it's the mother too.
And to be reborn, you have to die, right?
Here are the words that Eve Simonet, director of
Postpartum the documentary
which will be released on March 8 on the film's website and which we saw during its premiere in Paris on Wednesday February 16, poses on her own postpartum.
The first time she hears this term, she is 7 months pregnant.
Read alsoPostpartum depression: diving into this silent evil that eats away at some mothers
The future mother wonders, wants to prepare, reads books, but finds little on the subject.
The idea of his documentary then germinates, through his own experience.
For months, Eve Simonet films without filter these moments which follow the birth of her son Ferdinand - lochia, difficulty breastfeeding, exhaustion, tears, pain….
She doesn't want to hide anything from the reality of the woman's body after childbirth, too often killed.
"I suffered from everything and I did not understand what was happening
,
" she says today.
So, as if to save herself, she goes in search of other women, who, like her, suffer in silence and very often alone, but also maternity professionals, to tell what happens after the birth.
Postpartum the documentary
is part of a movement started several months ago on social networks, from the hashtag #monpostpartum of sociologist Illana Weizman to the movement “One woman = one midwife” launched by midwife Anna Roy .
While in France, 30% of women experience postnatal depression according to an Opinion Way survey for Qare published in September, Eve Simonet wants to show that all this is far from being inevitable.
During her work, she discovered that only a few kilometers from our home in the Netherlands, the reality is quite different.
Postpartum depression affects half as many women there.
A random ?
Certainly not.
In this country, women and more generally couples are accompanied during the first days following the birth by a "mother's helper" called "Kraamzorg" who comes to take care of both the young mother and her newborn also from the hearth.
In video, the trailer for "Post-partum the documentary", by Ève Simonet
Eight days of home support after birth
For more than a hundred years, the Dutch State, which has understood this need to surround the young mother and her family immediately after birth, has been training these "Kraamzorg", a profession halfway between our nurses and our childcare workers.
Beyond the medical follow-up of pregnancy, provided by midwives and the medical profession, these "birth fairies" accompany couples from the arrival of their child during "Kraamweek", i.e. 49 hours to be spread over 8 days.
Follow-up almost 100% covered by insurance (the equivalent of our mutuals) for any woman giving birth in the Netherlands.
So much so that more than 98% of Dutch residents benefit from it today.
“Unlike French women, women leave the hospital very quickly, generally 4 to 6 hours after childbirth, when they have not given birth at home (
16% of cases in the Netherlands, editor's note
).
In this case, I assist the midwife during childbirth and then I take over, while remaining in contact with her if the mother or the baby requires special care, "explains Delphine Petit-Postma, Kraamzorg French woman who testifies in Eve Simonet's documentary.
Full screen
Post-partum the documentary
, by Eve Simonet, the film will be published on the site on March 8.
sheisangry
Throughout her support, she manages the main post-delivery care (checking the cesarean section scar, stitches in the event of episiotomy or tearing, retraction of the uterus, baby's cord, temperature, etc.) for which she is trained, accompanies the mother in the establishment of breastfeeding or bottles or in the first baths of the infant.
A “ very gentle”
apprenticeship
towards parenthood
In addition to this follow-up, which corresponds to what French mothers experience, the Kraamzorg is involved in the life of the home and stewardship.
She takes care of shopping and meals.
“My goal is for the family to sit down to eat every day and eat balanced meals.
Preparing the meal is also a time that I can spend with the dad.
This is an opportunity to make him talk and listen to him in turn while the mother and the baby are resting, ”explains Delphine Petit-Postma, who recounts her daily life at Kraamzorg on her Instagram account @ama_kraamzorg_francaise.
A role of psychologist that she can also play with the brothers and sisters.
“I make sure everything goes well by asking them to help me with certain tasks.
I value them in their role as
she specifies.
But the latter does not stop there: it also manages the linen and sheets, the cleaning of the sanitary facilities and the bathroom.
“Seeing Delphine during filming, I understood that everything I had gone through was normal and that I was not zero.
Becoming parents, taking care of a baby, it's not innate, it can be learned!”, says Eve Simonet, who wants to prepare future parents with her documentary but also to make them feel guilty.
“Learning the first gestures with Delphine at home, like bathing for example, gave us a lot of confidence”
,
recognizes Emilie, mother of two children present in the documentary.
“We weren't afraid then to do it again alone.
She also taught us to observe our baby, to listen to him and to understand what he was telling us through his cries
.
Delphine Petit-Postma also taught us to observe our baby, to listen to him and to understand what he was telling us through his crying.
Emilie, mother present in the documentary
As a whole, the parents who have benefited from a Kraamzorg also testify to this “very gentle” learning process towards parenthood, both in everyday actions but also psychologically, with regard to the upheaval that the mother is experiencing.
Finally, for the latter, there is also this “convalescence” aspect which seems essential.
“Delphine allowed me to take a break and rest, which I had not done for my first postpartum.
For example, she forbade me to go up the floors of our house the day after my delivery, telling me that I had to remain lying down.
This disconnection was really useful for me to feel good, ”recalls Emilie.
“It is this support that we need,” adds Eve Simonet.
“To have 10 days of help, calm and confidence.
It is sorely lacking in France.
Present at the premiere of the documentary, Lauren Tron, communication officer for the 1000 days application launched by the government to help young parents, recognizes that “there are still plenty of things to do”.
Before referring to existing tools and in particular to this application which allows you to benefit from adapted advice, but also to do a test to find out if you are suffering from postpartum depression.
"If you wish, you can ask on the app to be called back by a health professional who will be able to redirect you to the right follow-up"
,
explains Lauren Tron, specifying that beyond the parents, "the medical profession also needs resources and support
.
Indeed, there is still a long way to go for postpartum to finally change in France.
You can find Eve Simonet's work on her Instagram account
@postpartum_ledocumentaire