Motherhood, parenting, work-life balance take centre-stage at new mums hub conference

With the rise in millennial mums and quest to add value with motherhood, work, as well as finding a balance in the changing times, the New Mums Hub recently held an empowerment conference to address some of these issues.The conference with the theme: “Fostering Entrepreneurship and Innovation For Sustainable Development,” had in attendance mums from all walks of life with their infants and toddlers who were taken through various sessions as it concerns motherhood.

According to the Founder of the platform, Adedayo Tosin Olufemi, she started the group after having her baby and was confused about a lot of things. “As a new mum, I knew I needed guidance and that wasn’t locally available. This birthed the idea to start a platform to help new mums through motherhood, family life and parenting.”

The first keynote session on Motherhood, Parenting and Support Systems had the founder of His&Hers, Dr. Seun Olabode, who harped on the need to focus on training a child through discipline than punishment, “learn to maximize their strength, equip them to develop their core skills. A support system makes parenting and so we need to take care of ourselves, too, to give out our best.”

Rayo Abe of Lagos Housewife stressed on the need to accept help when it comes as it is very vital for every new mum. “After the birth of a baby, the mum is never the same again, the healing process takes long, so to avoid post partum depression, seek help and embrace it.”

Speaking on work-life balance, founder Bobby Taylor Company and PR expert, Bukky Karibi-Whyte, said that there is really no balance but the goal is to ensure that both sides are not suffering. “In this part of our world, a lot of mums get back to work three months after putting to bed and are left with the guilt of leaving their infants with someone else.

“It is, therefore, key to organise your home and work schedule to fit. Engage your spouse, too, to relieve you of stress and always stay connected with your home so your nanny or caregiver knows you are concerned and nothing goes wrong.” She added that with the help of baby monitors and cameras, mums could keep tab of their little ones and better still find a work schedule that suits their home.

On post-partum struggles, founder Breastfeeding NG, Maryam Sanuth, said that thousands of mums struggle with breastfeeding after having their baby, especially mums who had Caesarian session, so it is important to consume foods high in carbohydrates to generate breast-milk, while Damilola Ogundipe of the Fit Mum Hub said that it had been a challenge for a lot of mums to lose fat after childbirth and stressed on eating little portions of all classes of food to achieve result.

On child nutrition, founder August Secrets, Toyin Onigbanjo, said that as high as 44 per cent of children are malnourished, adding that nutrition is the right of every child. “Ensure you feed your child with the basic nutrients that gives them the best start to life from six months old. The first 1000 days in a child’s life is crucial to the overall development of that child.”

The New Mums Hub, which is a safe haven for new mums, is an online community of over 100,000 mums coming together to help one another, learn through the eyes and experiences of the other while acting as a guard and guide for themselves.Among other activities at the event were empowerment programs for 35 mums with hands in skills on fashion designing, baking, wig making and makeup trainings.