Why covid made childcare more challenging

Motherhood is as much a joyful experience as it is hard work. Dr Ketoki Mazumdar, an assistant professor at the School of Human Ecology at Tata Institute of Social Sciences and a perinatal mental health expert from Postpartum Support International, studied urban mothers' lived experiences during the pandemic. This study stemmed from Dr Mazumdar's personal experience of being a mother as well as professional experiences of seeing clients who are mothers who had exacerbated challenges thrown their way to navigate during the last two years of the pandemic. The clear division of unpaid care work performed by a mother along with their paid work often leads them to have very little time for their personal and leisure time, which might have implications for their mental well-being, especially during the pandemic where the care load was exceptionally high without one's usual support system in place. The study was one of the first to be conducted in India, where the mothers' psychological well-being, parenting stress, self-compassion and psychological flexibility were assessed along with engaging them in deeper conversations to explore their lived experiences of mothering during the pandemic.