Right after Nadia Gamal El Din gave birth, she experienced feelings of isolation and near panic. “I was so lost! None of my friends had babies yet. I’m an only child and my mom couldn’t remember anything. I recall saying to myself, ‘What on earth am I going to do with this baby?’”
Nadia’s experience is all too common, not only in Egypt, but around the world. New mothers need a tremendous amount of support as they heal from giving birth and learn to care for a new baby. This intense physical, psychological, emotional, and mental transformation comes with urgent questions, and the isolation of new motherhood can have serious consequences. Up to 20 percent of new mothers experience postpartum or perinatal depression, which diminishes their ability to cope with the responsibilities of motherhood.