Who Am I?

Why do this? Maternal Wellness? What’s that?

“What we are doing is immense and wonderful and we deserve to be well so we can do it with joy and gratitude and appreciation and satisfaction….” – HZ

• I’m a mom, just like you. I know how hard it can be sometimes, and how utterly beautiful at others…the complex feelings and emotions that are part of motherhood make it seem like you’re on a roller-coaster…because I didn’t know I needed help with being a mother, and when I realized that, I realized that I’m probably not the only one struggling or needing support.
• Because I’m an academic in the health care professions, with a background in psychology and public health, I keep reading and learning about the role of motherhood, and what it means and how we women take it on fully and end up losing sight of who we are (our identity as individuals) and what we need to be whole and healthy in ourselves…and feeling overwhelmed or upset or stressed or confused without understanding why, and not taking care of our well-being, then feeling guilty on top of that because we should be feeling blessed and happy?
• My blog talks about everything related to being a mother, from the feelings, the expectations, the small things that happen that make you cry and you don’t know why, and the hard times that make you question whether you should have done this and when you wonder if there’s any way you can keep going, the heartfelt moments that make you feel like a true queen…all the way up to the services in health and social care that are available to support motherhood and mothers, the policies and regulations and systems we live within.
• Most of the focus is currently on pregnant or expecting women, or those just entering into the role of motherhood, but this is also for the mothers who have one or two or three or four or more, who are struggling with being a parent, and balancing life and love and work and everything in between…

• I am working on becoming a focal point for maternal mental health and wellness in Saudi Arabia, to help everyone understand that when our mothers are well and able to do their best, everyone in society benefits as a result…
• I will write about what it means to be a mother, mental health, emotional load, all the different feelings and needs that we have as mothers, the kind of support we need, the things we do and how that affects us, and what we can do for ourselves to be well…
• I will hold space for mothers and support them in finding health and wellness in their journey throughout motherhood…
• I hope this blog will reach mothers across Saudi Arabia, and provide them with support to keep going, to feel the sense of a growing community, to be a source of strength and solidarity, to be a resource and a friend, a coach and a mentor through this journey of motherhood and wellness.

@maternalwellnessksa