This TEDx talk explains what would happen if we nurtured mothers

Millions have listened to the tens of thousands of people who have taken the stage to deliver a TED or TEDx talk. But once in a while, a person delivers a talk that changes our culture. Brené Brown did it in 2010, and Motherly’s Diana Spalding is doing it in 2020.

Diana is a mother, a nurse, a midwife and the founder of Gathered Birth. She is Motherly’s Digital Education Editor and wrote the upcoming book, The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama (April 2020).

She is a force and a voice that needs to be heard. In 2020, the #yearofthemother, people are hearing her.

Her talk, “What if we nurtured moms?” asks the question that America needs to be asking itself—this is TEDx talk the nation needs to see.

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As a midwife Diana has often marveled at the power inherent in a woman who has just given birth, but in her talk she asks, “At what point does the woman who did this, become unimportant?”

She continues: “Somewhere along the way we stop taking care of mothers. As you’ll see, the consequences are dire. But that also means that when we fix it, the impact will be profound.”

Diana points out that according to Motherly’s second annual State of Motherhood survey “85% of mothers believe that our society does not do a good job of supporting them.”

Eighty-five percent is most mothers. Most of the mothers in America feel unsupported, and it’s no wonder why.

The maternal mortality rate in the U.S. is rising and black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from pregnancy, birth, and postpartum complications. There is no national paid parental leave program, meaning some mothers are going back to work while they are still bleeding from birth.

Mothers are under intense pressure and it is burning us out. America’s mothers are exhausted and it is hurting families, children and the economy.

We need America to hear Diana’s words and address the cultural expectations that contribute to mental stress—because when moms are hurting society as a whole is hurt.

As Diana said on the TEDx stage: “Cultural change is overwhelming, and daunting, and seemingly impossible… kind of like birth, right? But that doesn’t mean we don’t do it. We take it little by little, one contraction at a time.”

This is hard, but we can do it. We have a midwife coaching us through the process of birthing a new normal.