Mothers’ Day Celebration: How marketing deepens the pain of infertility – Ghana Business News
The second Sunday of May each year brings a curious mix of celebration and sorrow, a day etched with both joy and silent grief.
For some, it is the honouring of the sacred bond between mother and child. For others, it is a reminder of the void of the child they have longed for, prayed for, and waited on, often in vain.
On May 11, 2025, like clockwork, social media timelines became a mosaic of glowing tributes, family portraits, and hashtags like #SuperMom and #Sweetmother. WhatsApp statuses, Facebook feeds, and Instagram reels were awash with maternal pride — a digital bouquet to mothers everywhere.
Behind the scenes, brands joined in, rolling out marketing campaigns, discount sales, and themed messages, capitalising on a day now deeply woven into consumer culture.
Yet, amidst the flowers, filters, and fanfare, an unseen weight settles on the shoulders of a quite few — those navigating life without children. For many childless individuals and couples, especially those facing infertility or loss, Mothers’ and Fathers’ Days are not just innocuous holidays. They are emotional minefields, filled with the pain of unfulfilled longing and the sting of social invisibility.
In the eyes of a childless woman
In Ghana, marriage, whether sealed through traditional rites or a church ceremony, is almost always accompanied by celebration and hope. Amid music and laughter, well-meaning guests often offer one ubiquitous prayer: “By this time next year, may we be gathered again to celebrate your child’s naming ceremony.”
Though intended as a blessing, such words can plant seeds of pressure, especially for newlyweds who now feel compelled to conceive as soon as possible to fulfil cultural expectations.
Nana Ama (not her real name) knows this reality all too well. A few weeks after her wedding, following days of unprotected intimacy, she eagerly looked forward to announcing joyful news to her husband. Every change in her body, a flutter in the stomach, a loss of appetite, mood swings – was interpreted as a hopeful sign. But month after month, hope turned to disappointment, as the arrival of her period shattered her dreams yet again.
“It’s like a cruel cycle,” she said. “You wait. You pray. You try again. You build up hope. And then just like that, it’s gone. And you don’t even know the cause since doctors say we have no medical issues.”
Her ten-year journey through infertility has been anything but easy. But of all the challenges, one of the hardest seasons for her is the month of May.
“The anxiety, the confusion, the deep sadness — it all intensifies,” Nana Ama confessed. “Everywhere you turn, there are Mothers’ Day ads and posters. It’s on the radio, on the TV, in shops, and online. You can’t escape it.”
She explained how even her favourite radio or television shows become difficult to enjoy during that time. “You’re constantly reminded of what you don’t have — of what you’ve been praying for all these years.”
Despite the pain, Nana Ama makes it a point to celebrate her own mother and other mother figures in her life. “But it’s not easy,” she added quietly. “No matter how much I try, there’s always that ache in my heart.”
When advertising becomes a reminder of absence
For people like Nana Ama, Mothers’ Day is no longer just a day of celebration — it’s a reminder of longing. And in an era dominated by money-making and emotional marketing, this pain is compounded by a media landscape that rarely considers those outside the parenting experience.
Advertising experts indicate that the sentimental appeal of Mothers’ Day advertising lies in its capacity to evoke intense emotions related to the very essence of motherhood. Individuals tend to have close personal ties to this celebration, which makes them more susceptible to advertisements that extol the virtues of mothers’ sacrifices, their strength, and their unconditional love.
According to Finance Buzz, “In 2025, Americans plan to spend $34.1 billion in total on Mothers’ Day gifts and activities… This figure is up $600 million from the previous year. In fact, expected spending on Mother’s Day has gone up steadily since 2018.”
The figure reveals that businesses are making a lot from such emotional celebrations, which unintentionally create an emotional echo chamber where people struggling with infertility, child loss, or involuntary childlessness are surrounded by imagery that reinforces their absence rather than belonging.
In cultures like Ghana’s, where motherhood is not just celebrated but revered as a societal milestone, this exclusion cuts even deeper. According to Dr Ebenezer Tetteh Kpalam, a Clinical Psychologist, such celebrations put a lot of psychological burden on childless women.
Such women, he noted, already had a lot of psychological issues with their expectations to deal with; therefore, the silent stigma from Mothers’ Day advertising and celebration compounds it and causes a lot of anxiety for them.
“Stigmatising couples who have infertility challenges can cause depression, as the couples, especially the women, already have a lot of psychological issues to deal with.”
Infertility
The World Health Organisation (WHO) described infertility as a disease of the male or female reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.
Infertility, it noted may occur due to male, female or unexplained factors. Experts have revealed that infertility may result from factors on the part of the female due to tubal disorders, including blocked fallopian tubes, which are in turn caused by untreated sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or complications of unsafe abortion, postpartum sepsis or abdominal/pelvic surgery.
Other factors are uterine disorders which could be inflammatory in nature (such as endometriosis), congenital in nature (such as septate uterus), or benign in nature (such as fibroids); disorders of the ovaries, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome and other follicular disorders; and disorders of the endocrine system causing imbalances of reproductive hormones.
Experts believe that 40 per cent of the cause of infertility is often due to the male, just the same as the female. Male infertility causes include obstruction of the reproductive tract causing dysfunctions in the ejection of semen; hormonal disorders leading to abnormalities in hormones produced by the pituitary gland, hypothalamus and testicles – hormones such as testosterone which regulates sperm production.
Others are testicular failure to produce sperm, for example, due to varicoceles or medical treatments that impair sperm-producing cells, such as chemotherapy, and abnormal sperm function and quality.
Lifestyle factors such as smoking, excessive alcohol intake and obesity can affect fertility as well as exposure to environmental pollutants and toxins, which can be directly toxic to gametes (eggs and sperm), resulting in their decreased numbers and poor quality.
Blending marketing with stigma prevention
Mothers’ Day, like many other international day celebrations, has migrated into the era of commercialisation, a trend that generates billions in profit. It, however, often overlooks those navigating unseen battles such as childlessness. While companies and individuals harness the emotional attachment of motherhood to drive attention and sales, they must also recognise the ethical responsibility to market with mindfulness and empathy.
Campaigns can be crafted not just to sell but also to acknowledge the many forms of motherhood and the many who wish and are doing all they can to be mothers.
Considerate marketing can honour both those who have it and those longing for it, celebrating the struggle, joy and grief.
Inclusive messaging, mental health advocacy, and even trigger warnings during intense advertising periods can go a long way in making celebrations more compassionate. Supporting infertility awareness campaigns, featuring stories of resilience, or simply offering words of solidarity can transform a brand from a seller into a source of support.
Conclusion
In the race to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of mothers, we must not forget the ones still hoping, still healing, still holding space. Commercial gains must not come at the cost of silent suffering, as true empathy is what makes a message memorable, not marketing.
By Laudia Sawer
Source: GNA
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