On her blog, MP Paula Forteza recently published an article in which she called for “breaking the silence of the three months”. In particular, she wants better management of the onset of pregnancy.
The onset of pregnancy is often complicated for a pregnant woman. In addition to the unpleasant symptoms that this can cause (vomiting, nausea, etc.), they are often required to remain silent. In fact, we generally recommend that expectant mothers not to announce their pregnancy before the famous 12 weeks mark, in particular because of the risk of miscarriage.
Keeping a pregnancy a secret can take a toll on the morale of pregnant women, who do not dare to ask for help from those around them, live those first isolated weeks and sometimes lack support in the event of a miscarriage. It is a period that can be quite difficult to live, psychologically as well as physically.
Tired of these taboos around the beginning of pregnancy, MP Paula Forteza (ex-LREM), signed a forum on his blog in which she asks that we “break up the silence of the three months”. She criticizes in particular the fact that one encourages a pregnant woman to say nothing, while she is going through a difficult phase herself… and asks fair questions. “Why should women live alone and in silence these first 3 months of pregnancy which are extremely difficult to endure?
Why want to protect others from disappointment rather than feeling surrounded and supported in the event of a miscarriage? Why do without visits and pampering from family and friends when it is difficult to go out and join them as in normal times? “, she writes.
Symptoms are not “whims”
In her gallery, Paula Forteza, herself pregnant, asks for more recognition for these three months. The symptoms endured should not be taken lightly. “Enormous fatigue, nausea, vomiting, irritability…: these symptoms are not simple mood swings, psychological reactions or whims, which it would suffice to control with a little concentration and seriousness to move on, but indeed of the physical consequences of the upheavals that the body of the pregnant woman goes through ”, she says.
She regrets that the process of taking care of pregnant women by health insurance does not begin until the end of the third month: “Before that, since the pregnancy is likely to end at any time, it’s as if it hasn’t really started. It is a question of continuing the routine, as if nothing had happened: at work, with those around him, sometimes even with the family. While some women have to hide to vomit or fall asleep at their post because their body lets go. “
According to the deputy, the State and scientific research must pay more attention to this problem, to offer better support to future mothers. “Did you know that in the era of transatlantic surgeries, predictive health and RNA vaccines, medicine still cannot clearly explain the cause of the discomfort, nausea and vomiting of women in the first months of pregnancy? “, she laments.
Read also: 44 miscarriages per second and despite that, “the silence around miscarriages persists”
A right to telework
For Paula Forteza, today, “The new fight must be that of the reappropriation and the celebration of the feminine, that of the visibility of the body of women and the difficulties or injustices that may still be associated with it”. In order to break taboos and “break down the silences”, these subjects need to be brought to the fore more. Talk about it with the public, to finally have a recognition and an understanding of what they are going through.
The MP also pleads for a “right to telework” from the start of pregnancy. Especially when the symptoms become disabling. She encourages pregnant women to seek help and demand adjustments from their employers, as well as to announce their pregnancy. She concludes: “ Let’s break the silence of the three months: it has no place in a 21st century which calls on everyone to take care of themselves and their health. “
Elise Poiret
Journalist specializing in parenthood, Elise writes for aufeminin and Parole de mamans. She is also very involved in the fight for women’s rights. If you only have to remember …