Here is an excerpt from Diane Sanford's Letter to New Moms. Diane was invited to participate in the
Mother's Day Rally for Moms' Mental Health at Postpartum Progress.
Adopting a more balanced view of motherhood may help women to stop blaming themselves for their struggles postpartum and after! If the period following childbirth is expected to be difficult, and the job of motherhood is accepted as challenging, women may see their problems as part of a normal adjustment process, not as a personal shortcoming. They may feel more comfortable asking for assistance from family and friends and speaking up when problems occur rather than suffering in silence. A change in society's attitude may give women permission to be more loving and gentle toward themselves as they learn to be moms, and to appreciate their strength to carry on.Read Diane's letter in it's entirety HERE. I LOVE the idea that we can adopt an attitude of realism. In addition to universal screening, initiatives like the Mother's Act, more training for OB's, therapists, PCPs and psychiatrists specifically in Perinatal Mood Disorders, I believe this is the NUMBER ONE gift we can offer our daughters, nieces, and all women who have motherhood in their future.
Pampers commercials featuring women who have not showered in a week in completely disorganized homes, holding babies with greasy hair and baby acne, may not sell a lot of diapers, but would do a world of good to help new moms feel normal. Not only do we need to normalize the HELL (ok, maybe that's too strong a word for some women's experiences, if so insert
"challenge") that is the first 2-3 months postpartum, but we need to prepare women of childbearing age for it. This means instead of baby showers that include measure-the-belly games and baby food tasting competitions and at which we give the expectant mom blanket #28 with the soft edges and giraffe theme we should be taking up a collection for a postpartum doula! Yes, I am serious. Let's talk about the postpartum period and the experience as it is, not as how we hoped it would be or try to remember it now that our children are older and someone else's newborn seems so peaceful and easy-going. God has a way of erasing those memories of the early completely sleep-deprived days just like He does childbirth so that we actually do it a 2nd or 3rd time and repopulate the earth.
I hope you'll take the time to read some or all of the fabulous letters from the Rally. They are so helpful and supportive, even for those women, like me, who are a couple or more years past those early days. Thanks to Katherine for hosting this event and always being an advocate for new moms!
Adopting a more balanced view of motherhood may help women to stop blaming themselves for their struggles postpartum and after! If the period following childbirth is expected to be difficult, and the job of motherhood is accepted as challenging, women may see their problems as part of a normal adjustment process, not as a personal shortcoming. They may feel more comfortable asking for assistance from family and friends and speaking up when problems occur rather than suffering in silence. A change in society's attitude may give women permission to be more loving and gentle toward themselves as they learn to be moms, and to appreciate their strength to carry on.Read Diane's letter in it's entirety HERE.
I LOVE the idea that we can adopt an attitude of realism. In addition to universal screening, initiatives like the Mother's Act, more training for OB's, therapists, PCPs and psychiatrists specifically in Perinatal Mood Disorders, I believe this is the NUMBER ONE gift we can offer our daughters, nieces, and all women who have motherhood in their future.
Pampers commercials featuring women who have not showered in a week in completely disorganized homes, holding babies with greasy hair and baby acne, may not sell a lot of diapers, but would do a world of good to help new moms feel normal. Not only do we need to normalize the HELL (ok, maybe that's too strong a word for some women's experiences, if so insert "challenge") that is the first 2-3 months postpartum, but we need to prepare women of childbearing age for it. This means instead of baby showers that include measure-the-belly games and baby food tasting competitions and at which we give the expectant mom blanket #28 with the soft edges and giraffe theme we should be taking up a collection for a postpartum doula! Yes, I am serious. Let's talk about the postpartum period and the experience as it is, not as how we hoped it would be or try to remember it now that our children are older and someone else's newborn seems so peaceful and easy-going. God has a way of erasing those memories of the early completely sleep-deprived days just like He does childbirth so that we actually do it a 2nd or 3rd time and repopulate the earth.
I hope you'll take the time to read some or all of the fabulous letters from the Rally. They are so helpful and supportive, even for those women, like me, who are a couple or more years past those early days. Thanks to Katherine for hosting this event and always being an advocate for new moms!