In Hong Kong, underprivileged mothers and pregnant mothers living in impoverished districts are greatly in need of receiving childcare support and post-natal support. Many of these mothers carry a heavy burden on family, marriage, career and looking after their children. The stresses on their physical and psychological health are not to be neglected. According to the Association for the Advancement of Feminism (2009), 30.3%, 23%, 27.6% and 17.4% of underprivileged mothers with low education suffer the symptoms of wanting to be alone, feeling frustrated, with low motivation and not equipped to deal with emotional problems respectively. 60% suffer from mental disorder but they do not know how to seek for help.
During pregnancy and after giving birth, women face enormous changes physically and emotionally. For many of the newly immigrated pregnant mothers, they have fewer opportunities to participate in post-natal services and are vulnerable to stresses brought about by the arrival of a newborn baby . According to the statistics of local maternal and child health centres, 50% of pregnant women suffer emotional problems and 10% suffer post-natal depression. If good post-natal care is provided for the pregnant mothers, they will be equipped with the necessary knowledge and confidence to face the many difficult stages of nourishing a baby.
In view of this, Changing Young Lives Foundation started the ˇ§Smart Momˇ¨ programme from August 2009 to support underprivileged mothers and pregnant mothers in child/infant nourishment.
Programme objectives:
- To equip underprivileged mothers with various learning skills and explore their potentials
- To equip mothers with skills of child/infant nourishment
- To enhance parent-child relationship
- To promote mutual support amongst the mothers
Programme activities:
- Parent learning activities, including
English class, sewing class, computer class, cooking class
- Parenting workshops
- DVD production on childcare training skills
- Infant care training for mothers
- Parent-child playgroups
