We have received and are publishing a press release from Nursing Up Lazio, by Laura Rita Santoro
The Italian Nurses' Union Lazio Region
Cell. 347/5871031 www.nursinguplazio.it – mail: regionalelazio.nursingup@gmail.com
Legal mail: regionalelazio.nursingup@pec.itDear Director
Subject: maternal assistant, the new big idea to promote motherhood and national demographic growth.
The role of the maternal assistant should be to support young mothers in the period from the day of childbirth to the first months of the child, helping them with any doubts related to the arrival of a new life in the family.
Each mother will have several hours available to spend with the professional, establishing a personal and direct relationship. The Government's goal is to ensure widespread coverage, guaranteeing at least three assistants for every 20,000 inhabitants.
Technically, one assistant for every 6,666 inhabitants. Smoke and mirrors? Such directives do not consider the existence of MIDWIVES, graduates and specialists for this purpose, who by tradition and training take care of women, from birth to old age, without neglecting pregnancy. Such a vision has not even remotely considered the existence of this important figure, "the midwife." In Lazio we have family counseling centers that have been depleted in every way, already existing, which should simply be strengthened in human resources and means.
Family counseling centers are basic integrated social-health services, with multidisciplinary skills, crucial for the promotion and prevention in the field of women's health, developmental age, adolescence, and couple and family relationships. Each counseling center should have at least two midwives, highly qualified for maternal assistance and they are already widespread in the area. Meloni herself became a mother at 39, in fact the average age at childbirth has reached 32.4 years. I do not want to allude to the reason, nor do we care, but we are certain that national laws do not favor motherhood in any way, not even in politics.
We know that despite the allowances just increased for politicians, no one has done anything to allow motherhood for our women in politics.
Absence for pregnancy is considered unjustified absence, except for a few rare cases. So, how can politicians think of being promoters of demographic growth?
Is the proposed choice, the maternal assistant, the most important and necessary one?
According to "equilibriste", the Save The Children report, the low fertility in our country is naturally the result of many causes.
From the lack of services to the distribution of family care burdens. And then, of course, work: directly but also indirectly. Not only where women work are there more children (this is a fact). But also: where women work and the division of roles is more equal, fertility intentions increase.
According to the National Institute for the Analysis of Public Policies (INAPP): the disadvantage of women in terms of average pay is over 7,000 euros per year for full-time jobs, with average female salaries 20% lower than those of men. Furthermore, according to the National Labor Inspectorate (INL), in 2021 voluntary resignations of new parents are increasing and 71.8% concern women.
Women must be helped to reconcile motherhood and work. In Italy, only 1 child out of 10 can access a public nursery, with negative peaks recorded in regions such as Calabria and Campania, where coverage is almost non-existent and, respectively, only 2.6% and 3.6% of children attend a public nursery.
Among the places in nurseries, they cover just 18% of the applications. If you then look region by region, it gives you goosebumps! The children born today, most likely, will not find: a place in the nursery, support teachers, toilet paper in the middle school bathrooms, and much more.
We need serious policies for demographic growth, today a woman who decides to have a child is to be considered a heroine. ...not to mention if she is a healthcare professional, no benefits are provided for healthcare professionals, often penalized after a pregnancy. There have been, Italy is known for big proclamations, sensational announcements and often lacking in common sense! Let's be serious, let's make useful policies in favor of demographic growth!
Rome, 28.09.2023 Regional Head Nursing Up Lazio
Laura Rita Santoro
