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By Claudia Peschiutta

The first step to heal and free your mind from the fear and shame of stigma is to openly acknowledge and talk about it. To combat the stigma of postpartum depression (PPD) and other mental health challenges faced by new moms, FemArt 2025 hosted a frank panel discussion by mothers and experts who are working to break the silence about this issue.

“I think we don’t talk enough about the deep emotional transformation that motherhood is,” said panelist and therapist Laurie Vandegar. “All attention shifts to the baby; the mother is just invisible.”

Others echoed this sentiment during the “Motherhood and Mental Health – Reclaiming Our Narratives” panel held June 18 at the French Institute in Prishtina. They also talked about the barriers new mothers face in seeking help.

The vast majority of mothers will experience temporary baby blues, according to Laberie Carreti, a program officer at Action for Mothers and Children (AMC). She explained how the NGO is training midwives and other health care workers to educate women about the issue.

“We have created [Mothers’ Classes and Antenatal Group Care sessions] to allow these young mothers to express themselves…without being afraid or judged, said Carreti.

Panelist and midwife Teuta Recica, who provides training to new parents at the Main Centre of Family Medicine (QKMF) in Lipjan, emphasized the need for support from fathers and other family members.

Panelist and journalist Donika Gashi, who has written about her own struggles with the baby blues for Kosovo 2.0, said she reached out to AMC Executive Director Rina Demiri Spahija for help and finally felt like she was “being heard.”

Gashi also talked about the competing pressures new mothers often face, such as having to work while also raising children.

Panelist and playwright Valmira Thaqi noted that many new mothers no longer have the kind of sustained family support that was more common in the past and said public institutions are not filling the gap. She is co-author of “I Am Her,” a play about postpartum depression that is being featured at FemArt 2025.

“This is not a woman’s play,” said Thaqi. “It’s about all of us because we’re talking about the life of a person and the sacrifices that the mother goes through for her child.”

To further break the silence about postpartum depression, AMC and FemArt are asking supporters to like and share these Facebook and Instagram posts about PPD and how to get to help.