Filed under Emotional changes and challenges …

Give Some Love to a New Mom

Moms tend to take on the care and nurturing of everyone around us. Especially during the postpartum time, we need someone to care for and nurture us! When a friend had a new baby, I used to walk into her house and think, I want to be helpful, but what do I do? Through my … Continue reading →

On Going Back to Work

Going back to work is probably the ONLY postpartum issue that is actually on our society’s radar. There have been swells of debate recently about working moms, from Anne-Marie Slaughter’s Atlantic cover story to discussions of new Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer’s appointment while pregnant. Everyone has opinions . . . that we need more high-power … Continue reading →

Positive Imagery

Every day we get messages reinforcing our culture’s myths and misconceptions about birth and parenting, but some days the good stuff shines through! Today two things made me smile, even tear up a little. I saw imagery in the culture that reflected my own feelings back to me. OK, these are both from alternative sources, … Continue reading →

Letting Go of Advice

The barrage of advice is constant when you are a parent, especially a new one. Why does everyone feel equipped to comment on other people’s parenting, whether they have experience or not? So often well-meaning people seem to repeat what they’ve heard — echoing common tips without knowing the reasons behind them and without realizing … Continue reading →

New Mom vs Outside World

Being a new mom or dad is beautiful, intense, and life-changing. It also can be so very difficult: Often the world around us is not empathetic but can be brutal, judgmental, and overwhelming. It is often said that only people who have been through it can understand this drama of early parenthood. But why? Why … Continue reading →

How Long does ‘Postpartum’ Last?

Pregnant women in the US are exposed to many widely held beliefs about birth and the postpartum time that — they discover with shock and possibly pain, guilt, and sadness — are so very false. I believe we need to talk about these beliefs to prevent the shock and ease the other painful emotions that … Continue reading →

Darker Feelings Postpartum

At the first new moms support group I attended, as other moms began to discuss the baby trifecta (eating, sleeping, pooping), I began to have that creeping hot, embarrassed, and out of place feeling. I thought, We can talk to any woman on the street about all that. Didn’t anyone want to talk about what … Continue reading →