Without a doubt becoming\na mother is a wonderful and joyous time where you are filled with love,\nelation, excitement and gratitude. Your new little bundle of joy! While this is\ntrue, (especially when they are sleeping or feeding well) what about the times\nwhen your reality is not one of joy but of frustration, confusion, self doubt,\nanxiety, sadness, exhaustion and an overall feeling of dismay. What do mothers\ndo with these feelings? Are they able to share them openly or do they feel like\nthey are silenced?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Firstly, it is not\n\u2018unnatural\u2019 for mothers to feel confusion, frustration, self doubt and sadness\netc. Virtually every mother will experience such emotions, however\nunfortunately most will feel like they have no right to do so, and that such\nfeelings are shameful. For this reason unintentionally in society new mothers\nfeel silenced and like they may not be allowed to express the challenges of\nbeing a new mum. They may feel afraid to speak too loudly or too clearly on the\nsubject of their own experiences, for fear of being judged as a mum who is not good\nenough. When mothers feel like they can\u2019t voice all their experiences of\nmotherhood, the good and the bad, they can feel they have no choice but to mask\ntheir experience and difficult feelings from each other and the world around\nthem. They find themselves pretending that all is going well and equate asking\nfor help as failing at the inherent feminine qualities of being a \u2018good\u2019 mum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So call me a\nwhistle blower, but to all the new mums out there let me be clear. Being a new\nmum is a challenging time and no-one can prepare you for the demands a new born\nwill place on you physically, emotionally or relationally. It is one of the\nmost profound identity shifts that a person experiences in their lifetime. Yet,\nhow this experience unfolds is totally unique to you and there are no well worn\npaths or universal truths along the mothering journey. It is a time of absolute\nnewness and the learning curve is steep and daunting. And, while each new mum\nhas to forge her own way it is important to understand that you don\u2019t have to navigate\nthe terrain of your emotional experience alone, or in isolation. It is ok to reach\nout for support, to lead with your vulnerability and share and begin to get\ncomfortable asking for help, (which is not an easy thing to do in a culture\nthat celebrates self-sufficiency and ambition). I invite you to share your\nexperience with people you can trust, build yourself a village of supportive,\nunderstanding like minded people, whether they be friends, family, neighbours,\ncommunity groups or health care professionals. You do not have to do it alone,\nunmask motherhood with tears of despair and the booming laughter of relief as\nyou reach out and share the trials and tribulations, the joy and sorrow of\nbeing a new mum! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Without a doubt becoming a mother is a wonderful and joyous time where you are filled with love, elation, excitement and gratitude. Your new little bundle of joy! While this is true, (especially when they are sleeping or feeding well) what about the times when your reality is not one of joy but of frustration,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7],"yoast_head":"\n