A desperate mother has described how she taped sanitary towels around her newborn baby girl because she could not afford nappies when her hospital supply ran out.
The young woman is one of three new mothers who are being supported by a foundation because they do not have the money to cover the basics.
New and expectant mothers are the ones that suffer the most because creating new income is next to impossible for some time at least- Elaine Compagno, Women For Women Foundation
“I spent four days in hospital. When I returned home, I had a breakdown,” the woman, who asked not to be named, told Times of Malta.
“The staff at hospital had given me some formula milk and a packet of nappies. An elderly neighbour came to visit and brought me sanitary towels.
“After a week, the nappies and milk ran out and I started using the sanitary pads and taping them closed.”
Foundation supplying basics for baby
She was able to continue feeding her now two-week old daughter because the Women for Women Foundation stepped in just as the hospital-provided supply of milk was running out.
Elaine Compagno, from the W4W Foundation, explains that this mother is not a one-off case.
According to figures released in September by the National Statistics Office, one in five people living in Malta are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
Compagno said some women are “just not managing to move forward against the current”.
“New and expectant mothers are the ones that suffer the most because creating new income is next to impossible for some time at least, and if they don’t have family support, it’s extremely tough,” she said.
Cold and rundown home
When Times of Malta visited the home of the new mother and her partner, it was cold and rundown and the family did not even have water in the house.
The couple have no income, relying on the new father’s ability to secure work as a plasterer, which is hampered by an injury he had from a fall down three storeys several years ago.
They recently rented a home without signing a contract, leaving them with no legal protection when their landlord increased their rent.
Without a rental contract, they have no fixed address and so have been unable to apply for social benefits, they say.
The W4W Foundation is helping them to access support and navigate the issues they need to resolve.
Anyone wishing to help this case or other similar cases that the foundation is working on can email elaine@womenforwomen.foundation or visit womenforwomen.foundation/donate.