Transitioning motherhood, mother2mother support

The transition to motherhood brings about enormous change in women’s lives. It starts with childbirth, during which women are vulnerable and need personalised support. Spanish and Hungarian maternity care systems face similar challenges that often have long-term adverse outcomes for women both physically and mentally without a support system to overcome difficulties. These all require women’s active participation and self-led initiatives supported by our organisations. If women get satisfying peer-support, they reconnect with their psychological and societal resources and while embracing their personal stories and overcoming their difficulties, they get empowered, take responsibility for other women, turn to activism, express and practice solidarity towards other women, and they make use of this empowerment in other fields of life. Our organizations operate in a similar way and face similar organisational challenges: supporting and expanding the network of local groups, managing volunteers, handling fluctuation and burn-out, sustainability, financial questions, etc. This organisational structure is not common in our countries, thus exchange and cooperation with a similar organization would not be possible within national borders

We wanted the reach the following two aims by implementing the project: 1. SUPPORTING WOMEN: a) to foster mental wellbeing and empowerment of women raising children under 10 years of age through activism in local peer support groups, b) to provide non-formal learning opportunities for women and encourage them to be change agents for each other, c) to create inclusive and safe learning spaces for women who face social isolation and are left without help in facing traumatic birth, difficulties in motherhood, d) to provide safe spaces for peer-to-peer groups that have a great empowering effect: where mothers can share their personal experiences and trauma related to pregnancy, birth, postpartum and motherhood. Empowerment is not just about reproductive rights and giving birth, but also has a great impact on representing interests in all other fields of life. e) to provide non-formal learning points both for women and the organizations. 2. STRENGTHENING OUR ORGANISATIONS’ SUSTAINABILITY a) to get to know both organozations’s challenges regarding volunteers and sustainability, b) to improve network of local peer support groups, c) to strengthen international relations of both organizations.

KICK-OFF MEETING IN BUDAPEST: the aim of the meeting was to learn about how EMMA and EPEN operate; similarities and differences; questions of sustainable birth activism and volunteering; challenges and responses; and strengthening international relations. EXPLORATORY RESEARCH: the research team designed the methodology, defined the fieldwork and the analysis processes; we worked in small teams in both countries to run the total of 24 interviews and 4 focus groups. METHODOLOGY: this process has been active during the whole project. The project team defined 8 topics at the Kick-off meeting. 9 workshops were organised to thoroughly discuss these topics with several experts. STUDY VISIT IN VALENCIA: EPEN’s Annual Meeting was in Valencia which gave the opportunity for EMMA's team to meet with volunteers and activists. We worked on the research results and started to define the methodology’s principles. DISSEMINATION: EPEN organised a national meeting with coordinators to present the methodology for peer-to-peer support to mothers. EMMA organised an event to introduce the methodology for women’s organisations. CLOSING MEETING: in Budapest the project team from both organisations met to evaluate the outcomes and impact of the project.

The main result is the Mother-to-Mother: Ways of supporting mothers by women’s organisations handbook, in 3 languages (EN, ES, HU). The handbook contains relevant, useful information to mother activists and partner organisations about feminism, obstetric violence, motherhood, trauma, group methodology, women’s solidarity, communication and fundraising. The handbook is a resource for facilitators, who would like to engage mothers and link them to activist movements. Other results for EMMA that this co-creation gave a new boost to further co-operations to ensure the continuity of EMMA Hubs. Local coordinators from El Parto es Nuestro are able to implement a clear methodology to facilitate local groups, they gained useful knowledge and specific skills to manage online and in-person meeting of mothers and pregnant women. The fruitful partnership between EMMA and EPEN resulted in different ideas for new projects and possibilities to present the handbook internationally at different platforms. In the closing meeting, we also defined what our next steps would be as an international team to keep on going together addressing women’s and mothers' needs and advocating for their rights at the European level.