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By Maryam Abdullah
Maternal well-being is an important public health issue. A 2022 report by the World Health Organization explains that one in five women experience mental health challenges during pregnancy and one year after the birth of a baby.
There are many government policies, workplace benefits, and other support that could help mothers during this transition — but a recent study looked at a different kind of support: the arts.
The paper combed through research across the world and found that arts programs are important to moms’ well-being.
Researcher Emily-Rose Cluderay and her colleagues reviewed and synthesized the findings of 11 studies that highlight the social, emotional, and psychological benefits the arts provide expecting moms as they transition to their new parenting role. The activities ranged from singing, song writing, music, and dancing to storytelling, creative writing, and poetry, to weaving, ceramics, collages, and card-making. Here are the four benefits the researchers discovered.
Support
Feelings of isolation are a public health concern in the United States, and about two-thirds of parents struggle with loneliness. What’s more, according to a systematic review, expecting and new mothers tend to experience loneliness at even greater rates than parents of older children.
In past generations and before the rise of the nuclear family in the United States, mothers were often embedded in households with support from extended family with parenting experience who could provide guidance and practical perinatal help. While multi-generational households are growing in the United States, only 4.7 percent of all households (7.2 percent of family households) were made up of people from three or more generations in 2020.
Expecting and new mothers who take part in creative arts activities in a group setting tend to be motivated by a longing for connection with other moms, according to a study in Women and Birth. Participating in artistic activities together tends to help expecting and new mothers open up to one another and build a sense of cohesion, particularly when they’re able to meet regularly to share their experiences and nurture a sense of community and belonging.
Me Time
The pressures of modern life, a range of daily responsibilities, and a never-ending to-do list can increase strain on expecting and new moms. Participating in an artistic activity can offer a dedicated space to be immersed in creativity that goes beyond their day-to-day schedule of tasks.
The arts also provide opportunities to feel connected with the self, which can help expecting moms explore their changing identity as they transition into parenthood. Arts can be a way for moms to express either visually, musically, or in words how they experience being pregnant or embarking on a new role as a mother.
Joy and Calm
Participating in the arts can be a fun and uplifting activity for new and expecting moms. Researchers found that expecting moms who participated in a creative arts group program at their community library were uplifted by the experience. Dancing in a group, for example, permits playfulness, laughter, and celebration with others. What’s more, these positive emotions can spill over beyond art activities into relationships in the home.
The arts can also offer a reprieve from worries during motherhood. The immersive experience of creating art helps moms to just be in the present moment, set aside fears of the future, and switch off to find peace and calm. For some expecting or new moms, the arts can also help them tap into coping resources within themselves to navigate troubles or concerns.
Artistic activities, like singing, have a particularly calming effect during pregnancy. When expectant mothers listened to lullabies, the aesthetic beauty of the music and lyrics calmed and relaxed the participants.
Skill-Building and Bonding
Expecting and new mothers who participate in art programs can also learn skills that help them in their parenting. For example, singing not only provides moms with a creative outlet, it also can come in handy as a means for a mom to soothe her crying baby. Having a wide range of tools to help a baby in distress can help a mom feel empowered to fulfill her child’s needs.
Successful experiences in an arts program can inspire expecting and new moms to join other types of parenting programs, too. Gaining new skills in artistic pursuits can help boost new and expecting moms’ general sense of competence that can support them during their transition to parenthood.
There are countless ways that art contributes to our happiness. Research finds that, in general, art in our everyday lives can nurture our well-being and prevent or alleviate symptoms of physical and mental illness.
All this evidence suggests that artistic activities and community programs can be an important part of maternal health and well-being efforts. New and expecting moms may be more receptive to the arts compared to other kinds of activities and programs, like verbal therapy, because they can be less stigmatizing.
You don’t need to consider yourself an artsy person to reap the benefits of doodling, singing the lyrics to your favorite songs, or watching a play or a musical from time to time — especially in the company of other moms.
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This article originally appeared on Greater Good, the online magazine of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. Click here to read the original article.
