Määttä-Kumpulainen highlights struggles with childbirth fear and breastfeeding in Finland

Jaana Määttä-Kumpulainen from Lapinlahti always dreamed of having children but feared childbirth. During her first pregnancy, she avoided confronting her feelings, and her fear of childbirth went unnoticed in prenatal care. “When I held my firstborn, I felt an overwhelming sense of love, but immediately after, fear of loss set in,” she shared. Määttä-Kumpulainen also experienced anxiety while breastfeeding, which was linked to her childbirth fears.

According to recent research, mothers with fears of childbirth tend to breastfeed for shorter durations than the recommended six months in Finland, typically suggesting exclusive breastfeeding for the first four to six months. Breastfeeding benefits both the child and mother’s health as well as their bonding.

The number of women experiencing childbirth fear has surged in recent years, according to Professor Leea Keski-Nisula from the University of Eastern Finland. This increase began before the pandemic, but instability in the world has heightened anxiety levels. Birth rates have also significantly declined.

Määttä-Kumpulainen had a challenging experience giving birth 2.5 years ago that uncovered childhood trauma related to her childbirth fears. The first week after her baby was born was spent in a neonatal intensive care unit, where she developed postpartum depression, and she felt immense pressure to succeed at breastfeeding.

Despite her challenges, she persevered and ultimately breastfed for 6.5 months. After her child turned one, she began trauma therapy and, with support from family planning services, worked through her fears related to a second pregnancy.

Now, with her three-month-old second child, Määttä-Kumpulainen describes the experience as overwhelmingly joyful and encourages discussions on childbirth fears, as she believes the topic is often stigmatized.