Cork women share their experience of becoming mothers, the maternal instinct and the bond between men and their children.
It is commonly assumed that all women have maternal instincts, but the lived experience can be completely different. Sara and Lucy who had natural births felt elated when their babies arrived, but some women they knew suffered with postnatal depression.
While all the women describe how much they love their children, the demands an infant's care places on a first-time mother overwhelmed Rose, who felt guilty about not having a maternal instinct,
It all became too much.
All agree that not feeling maternal is quite a reasonable attitude for any person to have and that men can also experience maternal feelings. Vera believes that men like children at different stages, and that they may have issues with younger children in particular,
They’re a bit of opposition to them, that they get too much attention from the mother.
Sara and Lucy’s husbands who are of a different generation were very hands-on as regards caring for their babies which is in stark contrast to many middle-aged and older men who were never expected to change or feed a baby.
Ina believes the more equal distribution of care these days can only be a good thing for children and their fathers,
The husbands now are much more involved than they were.
This episode of 'Women Talking: Mothering’ was recorded in Cork and broadcast on 3 August 1982. The presenter is Doireann Ní Bhriain.
The series 'Women Talking' was produced by Nuala O'Faolain with programme assistant Patricia Swan for two series of six programmes in the Summer of 1982 and the Autumn of 1983. Women around the country talked with presenter Doireann Ní Bhriain about their experiences, their problems and their hopes.
The first episode of 'Women Talking' was recorded and broadcast on 13 May 1982 and continued over the summer of 1982. The episodes covered timeless themes such as work, marriage, education, mothering, money and growing old.
The second series was broadcast in the Autumn of 1983 and included a programme in Irish covering the lives of women in the Gaeltacht, an episode on nuns and their lifestyles, the problems of loss and grief, personal and social hopes and ideals, women's relationships and the structure of marriage.
