Moms worry – it’s part and parcel of who they are. They also love unconditionally and only want the best for their children and their health. And when you’re sick, you know your mother will be there to care for you. In the spirit of Mother’s Day, Health For Mzansi spoke to a few mothers about motherhood. We salute you, mothers of Mzansi!
A farming mother
Mpho Nene, a mother from KwaNdebele in Mpumalanga, faces many challenges as a farmer. One of them is limited time with her kids.
She tells Health for Mzansi that she’s instilled a family culture of working together. After school, when homework isn’t overwhelming, and especially during holidays, they work as a team.
“I spend most of my time on the farm,” Mpho explains. “I try my best to involve the kids in everything I do. They have jobs like watering seedlings or helping with harvesting and deliveries. I pay them, of course, but more importantly, it keeps us connected.”
When it comes to their health, she shares her concerns about a gum problem that runs in her family. Their teeth rot and fall out, even with good oral hygiene practices, she explains.
“I desperately hope my children won’t inherit this. It’s painful, and I do everything I can to teach them good oral hygiene.”
Mpho Nene
Long hours create a family challenge
Sivenati Mancana, a nurse working in different regions of the Eastern Cape, knows the struggle of balancing work and family. Early mornings and late shifts often mean she’s not home with her kids.
“It’s tough. They miss out on playtime with friends because I worry about them being alone. When I’m not there, I want them safe indoors.”
Sivenati Mancana
Despite the long hours, Mancana makes sure her children understand. She talks to them about health risks, especially her biggest concern: bringing home contagious diseases like TB and fever from work.
“We practice good hygiene at home. It takes work, especially with young kids, but we’re getting there.”
Finding time to stay connected
Long hours and unpredictable schedules make balancing work and family a constant struggle for Siphokazi Msitshana, a nurse in Queenstown, Eastern Cape.
Her demanding schedule includes 12-hour shifts or unpredictable 9-hour days with no guaranteed lunch break. This makes it difficult to even check in on her children during the day, according to her.
“Finding reliable childcare that fits my crazy schedule is another challenge,” Msitshana explains.
“Daycares typically close by 5 p.m., and if I work until 7 p.m., I need to find someone to care for my son until I get home.”
Technology helps her bridge the gap. “I use video calls to stay connected,” she says. “We check in on homework and just chat, in this way we bond.”
She adds, “We have a daily or weekly routine that includes spending at least an hour together, even if it’s just a quiet moment as a family.”
Creating healthy family habits
For mother and businesswoman Siphokazi Ngqoba-Zatu from Graceland, Cape Town, family well-being is a top priority. While genetics play a role with obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes in her family, she isn’t waiting around – she’s taking charge to promote healthy habits for her children.
“We don’t have a TV at home. It was a conscious decision. We want our kids to be active and engaged with the world around them.”
Siphokazi Ngqoba-Zatu
With a family history of larger body types, this mother is determined to steer her children toward a healthier path. She has developed a clever breakfast routine that balances convenience with nutrition, opting for a fibre-rich cereal blend with fresh berries.
She also prioritises homemade lunches to ensure her kids are getting the balanced, nutritious meals they need to combat childhood obesity and maintain their health.
Fears of a doctor and mother
Dr Thandeka Ngcobo from Durban identifies her biggest concerns as a mother working in the medical field as the long working hours and the difficulty in finding a balance because both areas need her to give 100%.
“Besides the minimum of 40 hours per week for which I have to work, I still have to work overtime, which means that in a week there’s at least one day where I will not sleep at home. I’m sure this is very confusing to my nine-month-old daughter, who will wait for mommy to come back to work but doesn’t see me.
“I don’t get to spend enough time with my children because I’m almost always exhausted. I also can’t attend some events at my eldest daughter’s school because of my working hours.”
She adds that there’s no day where you can be half a mother and have a doctor, but she tries to plan her leave days to be around school holidays so she can spend time with her children.
“Being a working mother is not easy, and I think it puts more pressure on us working in the medical field because we sometimes stress a lot about the health of our children.”
Dr Thandeka Ngcobo
“We worry that we might pick up some illness from work and expose our children to it. I remember during Covid-19 peak time, we had to stay away from our kids for a long time because we feared for their health.”
“I’m always very understanding and supportive when a mother brings in an unwell child. I understand their fears and concerns better and address them accordingly.
“I also now understand that it’s possible to miss an immunisation day because mom was at work, but I also now encourage all mothers to make sure they keep their children’s road to health charts safe and present them at every visit to a healthcare provider.”
Mother-and-daughter time crucial
Working as a nurse, Natasha Mfokwane from Limpopo says she is happy to be able to spend enough time with her child because she works office hours. Witnessing teenage pregnancy firsthand, she adds it encourages her to teach her daughter more about health.
“I am able to balance my work in the medical field with my responsibilities as a mother. I work from 7:00 to 16:00, so I am able to help my child with school work and have home-cooked meals every day. I also do not work night shifts.”
“My biggest concern is my daughter falling pregnant at an early age. Well, because I work as a reproductive health nurse, I get to see 12-year-olds pregnant, and that, as a girl mom, startles me. However, being a mother makes you extra caring and loving, so it’s easy to treat everyone with love and care.
“When I care for the patient, I always picture my own child, so it comes naturally.”
Eating the right foods
Tanya Mapitsha from Khayelitsha in Cape Town, who has a garden business selling flowers, fruit, and vegetable seedlings, underlines that, as a mother, she worries about her children’s well-being constantly.
“As mothers, we worry about our parenting techniques, whether we’re doing anything right, whether our kids are going to be completely screwed up, whether we feed them the wrong thing or let them stay up too late. We naturally worry about every single detail.”
“There are many ways to help manage our family’s health as mothers, but personally, I focus more on what we eat. I have a garden, so I make sure everything I plant is 100% organic.
“I wish for both my children and I to be healthy and strong enough to take care of ourselves and our health so that we can live long and healthy lives.”
Staying active and healthy with the kids
Female farmer Bertha Otukile from the North West highlights that her family is very focused on taking care of their health to avoid health issues.
“As a mother, if there is any member of a family who is sick, I get affected directly. So exercising and eating healthy are the main focus in our family.
“I exercise myself and encourage the kids to be active and play sports at school, and we also make vegetables part of our meals every day. I make my kids understand that health is about 80% what they consume and 20% exercise to avoid cancer, heart diseases, and high blood pressure, which are concerns in our household,” Otukile says.
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