Sophia Loren On Motherhood

This was written over 30 years ago by the very famous actress Sophia Loren in her book Women And Beauty.

You may have guessed by now that I believe that motherhood is the greatest role of my life. Nothing, not even winning an Oscar, can compete with the pleasure and sense of accomplishment it has given me. I believe that all women feel an instinctive urge to make a family. Some women may use this desire creatively in their work or by living lives devoted to ideas. For me, nothing could substitute for motherhood.

When I became pregnant, my concern for my career evaporated. Nothing mattered to me but my baby. If necessary, I would have given up my work to have a child. If this means I am not modern, then I am not modern. I believe an infant needs to be with its mother as much as possible. 

This closeness, the endless flow of attention are the accumulation of love that a child carries through his life as a heritage. If you are lucky, your early childhood memories are intense, warm moments of love, of security, of your mother watching you or helping you. 

It seems to me that people with these happy memories are content as adults because they can still recall the powerful security of being totally loved, while those with memories of being frightened and abandoned find it difficult to find real peace and happiness.

I am aware of the implications of what I am saying, and to be honest, a part of me hopes that it is not true. I know that many women today leave their babies at an early age to go back to work. 

I truly hope that these children will grow up joyful and that my ideas are outdated. But I wouldn't be honest if I said that I thought a few hours in the evening after a day's work could substitute for day after day spent with your baby.

If you share this desire for children and a yearning to be with them, don't worry about not being modern. Follow your instincts and enjoy your children to the fullest. If you feel secure in your pleasure at being a mother, your children will sense it and life will be easier and happier for the whole family.  {pg. 184}

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be...keepers at home.
Titus 2:5