Let's start with an eternal fact, a true assumption yesterday, today and certainly tomorrow: the mother figure has an extremely important role in the emotional and psychological growth of children .
Furthermore, despite the fact that the role of fathers has changed a lot in the last few years, the mother is still the one who most devotes herself to looking after children and managing the house .
The way of being a mother, however, has changed over the years. The mother is no longer the angelic figure of the past, she often has the problem of reconciling work / family and when she doesn't have an occupation in many cases she is looking.
A mother is also much more ; at the same time, however, it must frequently clash against prejudices and clichés, especially with regard to professional life.
We are increasingly older mothers
Over 35 pregnancies are increasingly common; in particular, we Italians, with about 35% of pregnancies after the age of 35, are apparently the oldest mothers in Europe .
In general, doctors and experts list the risks of late pregnancy, especially as regards the higher incidence of chromosomal diseases; the highest risk of complications such as gestational diabetes and maternal hypertension; the social dynamics that can intervene and are, unfortunately, all very real things. Not to mention the fact that nature does not discount and does not follow social changes and, therefore, when it is decided to become mothers "late", it is much more difficult to succeed.
Surprisingly, however, an American study, whose results were published in 2013 in the scientific journal Nature, established a link between longevity and pregnancies after age 40 .
The study analyzed a group of over-hundred-year-old women and compared their data with women born in the same year but died at 73 years old. It turned out that 19% of the over-hundred-year-olds had a child after their forties while in the second group the women who gave birth after the 40 were only 5%.
Mother's Day, the Moon and much more
Yes: but how has the mother changed in the common imagination?
How has the mother's image changed in the last century? What image do media and advertising give us?
In the twenties, thirties and forties, the mother was represented as the angel of the hearth, all devoted to the care of the home. The advertising was already mainly addressed to her, who was seen as the main "influencer" for family purchases. She is a mother all smiles and happiness.
In the fifties and sixties, the mother is seen above all as hostess and housewife . However, he begins to take on more sensual tones. These were the years of the Carosello and the introduction of new tools to help with housework, first of all the washing machine. Naturally, the mother is the undisputed protagonist of all advertising related to home and child care. It is still all smiles and happiness and the concept of emancipation begins to emerge.
In the late 1970s, with the rise of the feminist movement, the image of the mother began to change. In the common imagination it is still predominantly a housewife, but the first images of "modern" working mothers begin to appear .
In the eighties the first objects appeared for women in categories that until then had been the prerogative of the male genre and, for example, cars. Mum, however, is still the one who descales the toilet and prepares all kinds of dishes.
In the nineties the concept of conciliation begins to slowly emerge in the image of the mother. Today, the most common stereotype is perhaps that of the multitasking mother, a supermamma capable of combining work and family, who at the same time also manages to go to the gym, fight cellulite and be beautiful.
In the advertising of household products, some men have also appeared, but essentially the main target of the major consumer goods within the family is still the mother.
Of course they are all stereotypes because every mother, every woman, is her way and fortunately we are all different. Among other things, there are also a great many dads to do their shopping. The image that is given back to us by advertising and the media, however, tells us a lot about real society ... Let's think about it ...
What we wish the mothers of today
Regardless of age, professional life and everything else, we wish today's mothers to be increasingly free to express themselves and live their motherhood with joy ; to love and be loved; we wish the awareness of the importance of one's role; we also wish to work for all and reconcile professional and family activities because, in many cases, the road is still long and winding.
