Since launch two weeks ago, Born in Lockdown has amazingly been dowloaded 4,500 times and raised more than £5,700 for Sands. We’ve been featured on BBC News, and were also the lead story on Positive News – happy days indeed. The southwest's biggest independent magazine Bristol 24/7 helped spread the word too (they were a project partner way back when Mothership first launched in 2019). Meanwhile we had a wonderful and very personal blog review from Aniqa's Attic, with Aniqa writing, ‘For the first time in a very long time, I've felt the world has spoken the words I couldn't speak, and there are those who understand me.’
If you haven’t read Born in Lockdown yet, you can download it here.
We’d love you to meet a few more of our Born in Lockdown contributors, and hear from them why they wanted to be part of our project and make their voices heard.
MEET KIA. Kia says, ‘As a first time mum who gave birth during the early weeks of the pandemic I struggled with not having any visitors, I felt as though I was entering motherhood without a support network. Later in the year the opportunity came up to join the Born in Lockdown project. It allowed me to share my voice about the realities of having a baby in lockdown. Through the project I wanted to let other mothers know through solidarity we would survive this difficult time and I also wanted a way to mark that I was part of history as one of the mothers who gave birth during the pandemic. Born in Lockdown gave me a reason to write every day, it gave me a way to channel my emotions and it gave me a way to reflect on my own personal motherhood journey. Born in Lockdown was my village.’
MEET ANJALI. Anjali says, ‘When I first heard of Born in Lockdown, I knew it was something that would help me put down on paper how I was feeling about the whole experience of having had a baby during a very unusual time in our lives. Something had been simmering in my mind for a while – I wasn't quite sure how long or exactly what, but I knew I wanted to communicate it in some way. So it was a brilliant coincidence that I heard about the project when I did – it lifted a part of the weight I felt I'd been carrying around.’
‘I'd had a hard time conceiving, and was lucky enough for IVF to have worked despite my age (I was 39 when I had Tarun last August). I was incredibly grateful, but after the physical and emotional trauma of multiple rounds of IVF, I was nervous the entire time I was pregnant. Thankfully, I had a fairly smooth pregnancy. Then lockdown hit, and between having to attend appointments alone and coming up with multiple scenarios of what to do when I went into labour, I felt really lost and down for a large chunk of it – I especially missed my parents. Reading the finished Born in Lockdown project was a realisation that so many of us have done it in a way we wouldn't have ever chosen to, but we did it because we had to and we have these amazing babies in our lives as a result.’
MEET ZOE. Zoe says, ‘The project gave me the push to take my minutes with my thoughts. I didn't think writing was "my thing," but when I put pen to paper, things started to flow and it felt powerful that my experiences of becoming a mother during a global pandemic were about to be heard. Trying to learn the role of being a mum with little support has been lonely and overwhelming at times, but reading through the completed book made me feel so proud. Proud of myself, and all the other 2020 mums, for getting through each day. It has been a big confidence boost, and something I will kept referring back to when times get tough. I hope to continue writing my experiences down so that when my twins are older, I can read them segments about the things we went through together, the good, the bad and the pandemic!’
MEET SHIPRA. Shipra says, ‘Experiencing pregnancy and becoming a first-time mum during lockdown has definitely been a journey. Luckily I’ve never felt lonely or isolated, I knew instantly that I had to change my mindset. I enjoyed the moments, as no-one could control what’s going on in these crazy times. Worrying and being anxious wouldn’t help me, my baby or my experience. I wanted to look back and still have wonderful memories and not feel like it’s been tainted! It was not an experience I was willing to give up because of coronavirus!’
‘But I too experienced challenges and for me the biggest challenge was experiencing that hospital environment, I’ll be honest, it was quite terrifying at first – doing it alone, seeing midwives masked and gowned up, the black and yellow tape around to enforce the two metre rule. It was all so odd and so clinical. The hardest part for me and my husband was that he wasn’t allowed to attend all my ultrasound and hospital appointments but I was thankful that he was allowed to join me during childbirth.’
‘We are both in ways thankful for lockdown, as we’ve learned to slow down and enjoy the simple things in life so much more. Whilst this isn’t at all what we would have wished for my pregnancy, it was in some ways a blessing in disguise for me and my husband Tyrone as we have been able to spend quality time. Thank you for letting me share my experience and for bringing all these strong women together. Well Done To All The Mummies Out There!’
MEET NATASHA. Natasha says, ‘I was eight months pregnant with my first child when I moved house to a new area. It was two weeks before the first national lockdown. I thought that I’d meet local mums during maternity leave in the usual ways of baby classes and activities, but all these lifelines suddenly vanished. I was ecstatic to have my baby, but I also felt bereft, isolated and lonely. Moreover, this one precious year off work was flying by without much to commemorate it for my daughter – no new people, no new places, no adventures, nothing to make one monotonous lockdown week different from the next. I felt a compulsion to record this time somehow, so that I’d have something to show for it. Born in Lockdown gave me the opportunity to be part of the community and activity that I craved. Writing helped me feel purposeful where I had felt powerless, and it gave me a sense of validation to feel involved in creating a document of true cultural value.’
MEET GEMMA. Gemma says, ‘After Nina was born, I had started writing letters to the girls once a month, doing this gave me the chance to identify the positive whilst processing and coping with things that were difficult. Born in lockdown gave me an opportunity to share my experience and help build something for others to read and relate to.’
‘I imagined that my maternity leave would be filled with playdates and baby classes - I couldn't have been more wrong. Navigating through a pandemic with a newborn and toddler was challenging to say the least! I'm sad our friends and family have missed out on the first (almost) year of Nina's life, and watching her and Maya's special bond. But we've been able to do everything at a slower pace and savour it. We didn't have people over every minute of the day when she was born, so we didn't have to ask people for space. We didn't have anyone saying, "What do you mean you've not left her yet?" when we wouldn't have been ready to, as the restrictions meant we couldn't. Yes, so much has been lost, but I feel like we've gained even more.’
MEET ROSE. Rose says, ‘Being heavily pregnant, during a heatwave, in a national lockdown, with a hyperactive toddler, was intense! I don’t know how we made it through those 10 weeks before I gave birth. It was a very unique experience and not something I would like to repeat.’
‘One of my toughest days came two weeks after my baby was born, my eldest daughter became really sick. No one was allowed in the house to help and our GP wouldn’t see her in person. She went to A&E without me because of the risk to the new baby. I felt helpless and very alone. ‘
‘For me the Born In Lockdown project was a way of creating something beautiful out of such a challenging time. It’s an incredible account of the courage and determination of women. It demonstrates that although we have been apart during this pandemic, we have come together as members of the new Lockdown Motherhood.’
MEET ZOMUANPUII. Zomuanpuii says, ‘I took part in the Born In Lockdown project after I joined the Instagram group of Mothership Writers run by Emylia Hall. I am grateful to be able to contribute to this amazing project. After reading the completed ebook Born In Lockdown, I thank Emylia for uniting us mums to share our experiences during these strange times of the global pandemic! The stories shared by other mums in the same situation reminded me that I am not alone. I felt heard, supported, and encouraged.’
‘One particular challenge for me as a new mum during lockdown is that I am not able to share our journey and special moments with family and friends. My parents and siblings who live 5000 miles away in Mizoram, a small state in north east India, have not yet met our son who’s nearly a year old now.’
THANK YOU to every single one of our 277 writers. And thank you to Kia, Anjali, Zoe, Shipra, Natasha, Gemma, Rose and Zomuanpuii for sharing your stories here today.