You are currently viewing Young mom starts ‘The Mother Affair’ support group

Young mom starts ‘The Mother Affair’ support group


A 25-YEAR-OLD mother from Walvis Bay launched a support group for pregnant women and young mothers on Saturday.

The Mother Affair group aims to provide a platform offering a sense of belonging, as well as mental, emotional and spiritual support. The idea came to first-time mother Thamiah Muller in 2020, after she gave birth to her son.

“I had a miscarriage and eventually got pregnant with my son. My entire first trimester was the hardest time of my life. I would not have been able to pull through without the support that I had and still have today.

“I realised how important it is to have a support system. Every day throughout motherhood, I still realise and see the importance of a stable support system,” she says.

Muller started to post about her motherhood journey on social media after giving birth. This attracted other expecting women and mothers, and she eventually started a WhatsApp group on 4 February, where she engaged with young mothers.

“They opened up to me and shared personal and sensitive issues about their circumstances. I realised that these women do not have support. That is when God gave me this idea. I did not believe that something as big as this could come from me, and I pushed back [against] it. I thought I was incapable and it was too much of a responsibility. But God sees you as the person that He called you to be, and there are times that you do not see yourself as that person.”

Muller believes that women need to feel loved and appreciated through their journey as mothers.

“When we say that we need support, people think of financial support, which is also important, but that is not all. You cannot feed from an empty pot. Even if it is full, what if it is poisonous? What are you feeding to your children? You need to be able to take care of yourself first, and you will not be able to do that if you do not have a stable support system.

“Nowadays, we also see women tearing each other down, instead of cheering for each other. This group will promote women’s empowerment,” says Muller.

Gethrine Phillipus (24) gave birth two months ago and says the group has helped her a lot.

“I joined when I was 33 weeks pregnant. I wanted to learn about motherhood and share my experience, what I was going through. The mothers on the group helped me. It has been lovely. I had many questions. Motherhood can be stressful at times. I cannot wait to see more mothers joining so that we can help them grow,” says Phillipus.

“We uplift each other emotionally and spiritually. I can express myself however I want to without anyone feeling like I am exaggerating. It is a space where I a can grow as a mother,” says 25-year-old Graca Gontes.

The group already has more than 40 members throughout the country, and there are plans for members to be more physically involved in the lives of one another through various projects, awareness campaigns, conferences and gala dinners.





Source link