🌍 Why I Wanted to Listen

As a social work student at Flinders University, I recently had the chance to sit down with two international student mothers studying here in Australia. I first became interested in international students who are also mothers when I realised how easily I lose my own balance just trying to keep up with university life. If I already feel stretched, what does it mean for someone who is meeting the same academic demands while settling children, managing homes, and holding everything together across cultures? That question stayed with me. It nudged me to look more closely at how caregiving, cultural expectations, and institutional rules weave together in their daily lives, and how these layers shape the way they care for their health.

🤔 Challenging My Assumptions

Going into these conversations, I’ll admit I carried assumptions shaped by what I’d learned in class, almost without noticing it. I expected their stories to be defined by struggle—studying overseas without a partner, or juggling coursework while raising a child alone. I imagined these realities would come across as burdens when they spoke about them. But as our conversations unfolded and the initial formality fell away, I realised how limited my expectations had been. There was no bitterness in how they described their lives, no sense of martyrdom. They simply spoke about their days with clarity and calm. Listening to them reflect on the rhythms of daily life, I found myself rethinking what health really means. I used to think of health as something fixed and ideal, a state you reach when nothing is wrong, physically or mentally. But these two students showed me something different. Health, I now understand, is more of an ongoing negotiation—a constant process of adjusting and rebalancing. It’s the ability to find your footing even when things keep shifting.

🕰️ The Rhythms of Daily Life

One of the students was in the middle of a demanding placement. Her days ran on a tight schedule—commuting in the morning, preparing dinner in the evening, one task flowing into the next. Even with her family far away, she stayed close to them through long video calls. Sometimes she’d have the call running while she had dinner; other times while watching a movie. The screen stayed on, and those hours of quiet presence stitched together into something that kept her emotionally grounded.

The other student moved to a different rhythm, but with the same sense of intention. She met pressure with structure, breaking each week into pieces she could manage: beach trips with her child, regular family exercise, her own time at the gym. These routines built up, layer by layer, into a kind of resilience. When stress came, she didn’t try to push it away immediately. She let the feeling land first, then worked through what to do next, one step at a time. Neither of them framed their lives around sacrifice. What came through instead was how firmly they held the reins. Listening to them, I began to see that life’s messiness doesn’t disappear—the real strength lies in making that messiness bearable, in giving emotions and pressure somewhere to settle within the texture of ordinary days. And perhaps most importantly, the choices they made weren’t just about getting through today. They were about keeping tomorrow open. Health, seen this way, becomes something forward-looking—a capacity to keep imagining a future even when the present feels uncertain.

🛠️ What Real Support Looks Like

When I offer health suggestions to others, I often find myself recommending self-care workshops, for gentle reminders to pause, breathe, and keep a little space for oneself in the rush of everyday life. But spending time with international student mothers shifted something in me. I began to see that what truly gives them a moment to breathe is not another idea or technique, but the practical supports that ease the weight of their daily responsibilities straight away.

Abstract advice has its place, but it often places the burden back on the individual and cannot quite reach the concrete, immediate pressures that shape their lives. One student’s face visibly relaxed when she mentioned the university’s extension system. She knew that if life threw her off course, she could apply for extra time online. For extensions under three working days, she only needed to explain the situation—something like her child falling sick—and her course coordinator could approve it through standard procedures. For anything longer, she could submit documentation, like a medical certificate, and the process was clearly laid out. For her, this kind of transparency and flexibility meant she wouldn’t be backed into a corner when life and study collided.

The other student spoke about a different kind of support, one closer to the body. She’d used the university’s Health2Go physiotherapy clinic, which operates on campus. Senior students provide assessments and treatment under the supervision of experienced practitioners. An initial session costs around twenty dollars, follow-ups are cheaper, and students get an extra five-dollar discount on top of that. Each appointment lasts close to an hour. For the kind of minor aches that regular insurance rarely covers, this affordable, professional service gave her somewhere to turn when her body needed attention. These systems aren’t always visible, but in moments like these, they quietly lay down a softer floor beneath everyday life.

🔍 Where Support Could Grow

At the same time, the challenges these students faced pointed clearly toward where future support could grow. One student’s difficulties centred on keeping her whole family stable. She was helping her child adjust to a new school system, paying steep rent to stay in a good catchment area, and living with the constant uncertainty of her visa status. Any policy shift could set off a chain reaction—her child’s schooling, their housing options, her own career plans, all interconnected and fragile.

She understood that the university couldn’t make visa decisions; it could only advise and refer. So most of the time, she had to piece things together herself, navigating between different sources of information. She mentioned someone she knew who had slipped back into depression under the combined weight of the migration process and workplace pressure. Hearing that made me realise how structural and long-term this kind of stress really is. From where I stand as a social work student, I’ve started to think that meaningful support in the future might begin with these very specific challenges. Perhaps that means creating more accessible visa and legal advice points on campus. Because compared with general wellbeing advice, clear guidance on visa or legal matters can significantly reduce their long-term anxiety.

🏫 Resources That Make a Difference

Before closing this piece, I want to return to the campus we move through every day. As I mentioned earlier, wellbeing conversations often focus on how individuals can regulate ourselves, yet rarely linger on the practical supports that allow life to ease even a little. With that in mind, I wanted to gather some of the resources that are readily available at Flinders, including the extension system and Health2Go. Scattered across different corners of the university, these services offer student mothers a path they can lean on in the moments that matter most.

Health2Go Teaching Health Clinics
Low-cost services in physiotherapy, exercise physiology, optometry, audiology, nutrition, and more.
Address: Flinders University Carpark, 13 Sturt Dr, Bedford Park SA 5042
Phone: (08) 7221 8700
Website: https://www.flinders.edu.au/health2go

Extension Applications
BetterU has a helpful guide on how to apply.
Website: https://blogs.flinders.edu.au/student-health-and-well-being/2023/08/22/faq-i-need-an-extension/

Flinders University Childcare Centre
Childcare that fits around class times, making it easier to balance study and parenting.
Address: Flinders University Child Care Centre, Sturt Drive, Bedford Park, SA 5042
Phone: 8201 2881
Website: https://www.flinderschildren.com.au/

Counselling Service
Book online during the day; crisis support available by phone and text on evenings and weekends.
Website: https://students.flinders.edu.au/support/hcd/counselling

International Student Services
Information and support on study, life in Australia, and visa matters.
Website: https://students.flinders.edu.au/support/iss

Support Services page

You can locate supports that are more specific to your actual needs.
Website: https://students.flinders.edu.au/support