Matrescence is a woman's transition into motherhood and all the psychological and physical change that comes with it. Despite these changes, there is an underlying pressure that motherhood should only be a joyous occasion.
Mumty Dumpty cracks open stories of mothers that are not talked about. It serves as a safe space that allows mothers to process the negative emotions that they feel, instead of bottling them up. It aims for mothers to face their flaws, and find comfort in familiarity. After all, it is okay to fall and crack sometimes.
The Issue
The prevalence of perinatal depression in Singapore is about 12% for antepartum depression and about 7% for postpartum depression in Singapore. Despite the changes that happens in the transformative phase of matrescence, there is still an underlying pressure that a mother has to sacrifice everything to focus on her children.
Due to these burdens and unrealistic expectations, mothers face negativity when they don’t fit the ‘mold’ of what a mother should be, which could lead to postnatal depression.
“Many mothers are not able to understand - much less talk about - their experiences, since postnatal depression is not a widely understood topic in Singapore.”
Jolene Tan, Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE)
Insights
Existing solutions tend to focus on the child, rather than the mother herself, and rarely touch on their emotional and mental wellness.
Common causes of negativity includes grief of a mother’s past self, lifestyle changes and motherhood guilt.
The negative emotions a mother faces is usually brushed off and taken lightly, hence seeking help is rarely thought of.
Mumtu Dumpty is a platform that is focused on the emotional well-being of new and expecting first-time mothers. Being able to connect with other mothers for guidance and advice, the Mumty Dumpty app is digital space where mothers are able to process their negative emotions and grief. This allows mothers to overcome their uncertainty and loneliness.
Serving as a safe space that encourages mothers to spark real and honest conversations about motherhood, this project aims to reach out to mothers, bringing about the realities of motherhood.
* This is a fictional project created in Temasek Polytechnic, School of Design
