My Black Motherhood: Mental Health, Stigma, Racism and the System

Sandra Igwe

Joyful. Graceful. Blessed. Strong. Anxious. Depressed. Stigmatised. Stereotyped. What happens when motherhood isn’t what you expected – and when you reach out for support, you are met with judgment and prejudice?

Sandra Igwe shares her journey as a young Black mother, coping with sleepless nights, anxiety and loneliness after the birth of her first daughter. Burdened by cultural expectations of the ‘good mother’ and the ‘strong Black woman’ trope, her mental health struggles became an uphill battle.
Black women are at higher risk of developing postnatal depression but are the least likely to be identified as depressed. Sharing the voices of other mothers, Sandra examines how culture, racism, stigma and a lack of trust in services prevent women getting the help they need. Breaking open the conversation on motherhood, race, and mental health, she demands that Black women are listened to, believed, and understood.

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Llawen. Gosgeiddig. Dedwydd. Cryf. Gorbryderus. Stigma. Stereoteip. Beth sy’n digwydd pan nad yw bod yn fam yr hyn roeddech chi’n ei ddisgwyl – a phan fyddwch chi’n estyn allan am gefnogaeth, rydych chi’n cael eich barnu a dioddef rhagfarn?

Mae Sandra Igwe yn rhannu ei thaith fel mam Ddu ifanc, yn ymdopi â nosweithiau di-gwsg, gorbryder ac unigrwydd ar ôl genedigaeth ei merch gyntaf. Gyda disgwyliadau diwylliannol y ‘fam dda’ a’r ‘menyw ddu gref’, daeth ei brwydrau iechyd meddwl yn frwydr serth.
Mae menywod du mewn mwy o berygl o ddatblygu iselder ôl-enedigol ond nhw yw’r rhai lleiaf tebygol o gael eu nodi fel rhai ag iselder. Wrth rannu lleisiau mamau eraill, mae Sandra yn archwilio sut mae diwylliant, hiliaeth, stigma a diffyg ymddiriedaeth mewn gwasanaethau yn atal menywod rhag cael yr help sydd ei angen arnynt. Gan agor y sgwrs ar famolaeth, hil ac iechyd meddwl, mae’n mynnu bod merched Du yn cael eu clywed, eu credu a’u deall.