Becoming a mother is one of life’s greatest blessings. You may have waited all of your life with anticipation for this journey, from conception and pregnancy, to the birth of your child and the first months and years with your baby. Sometimes, however, women find that the expectation and ideal does not turn out to be their personal experience. For some women, conception and pregnancy can be difficult, riddled with complications, or just plain uncomfortable. For others, the birth of their child and first year of life may cause anxiety, sadness, or even a grief reaction over the independence they’ve lost. This is true for mothers of healthy, “easy” babies, and can be even truer for mothers who have a child who is born pre-term, or a child who has colic, reflux, or a “fussy” temperament.
New mothers often feel inadequate and scared by the feelings they encounter during this period, and worry that they are strange, ungrateful, or even crazy. Society makes women feel as though they need to be perfect; perfect mothers, perfect spouses, perfect at their jobs…when a woman feels as though she can’t handle it all, it can be deflating to her self-esteem.
This time period may make a woman feel very alone.
One of the first things I want to tell you is that you are NOT alone. You are not strange, or ungrateful, or crazy. This is a period of adjustment for all women, and coupled with drastic changes in hormones, as well as the individual temperament of your baby, your level of social and family support, and your own personality, your ability to cope with these changes may be compromised.
If you are having a difficult time adjusting to becoming a mother, I am here to help. I provide individual and group counseling services for women experiencing all levels of pregnancy and post-partum adjustment difficulties. One of the most liberating moments for a new mother is the ability to discuss her feelings in a safe, non-judgmental environment, whether alone with one person, or with a group of women who support her and understand what she’s going through. In addition to providing you with “adult time” and an outlet to discuss your feelings, I am also happy to devote separate sessions which focus on special time for you and your baby together, and provide you with ideas to bond and build a strong attachment to one another.