Temwa is a 26-year-old British-Malawian lifestyle influencer and mother of two young children. To celebrate and mark Black History Month, she shares her reflections on the importance of representation in motherhood.
"We’re a puzzle piece in history"
Birthing new life is an incredible thing and nothing in the world connects you to the history before you like motherhood does.
For me, the mothers around me, my own mother and aunties, were the picture of the motherhood I had known. Their way of carrying it all and sharing the little they had with their children and husbands, leaving their own plate empty seemed effortless, that was the inspiration.
But, becoming a mum myself I’ve learned that there is so much secret struggle left unspoken among those I’ve looked to. I still admire their incredible strength, but just surviving motherhood within our four walls, as we seem to always have done, has to end and being given the platform to honour our humanity as black mothers needs the room it deserves.
From struggling to conceive, maybe not wanting children at all, to breastfeeding issues and postpartum depression, I’d love to see more conversations about what really touches so many of us. This Black History Month I’d like us all to remember that representation matters, in motherhood too. Let’s create that space.
We’re a puzzle piece in history and a rich history is written into our veins as black mothers, with the bitter root of what motherhood used to mean for so many of our ancestors before us, the joy of community and the sweet hope of expecting a new life who will live to write their own story. Our children are powerfully backed by the inspiring stories of people like us and our own stories today are worth the listening ear.
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Follow Temwa on Instagram @temwa.love to read and see more insights into motherhood or keep reading through our blog to hear more parents’ stories.
