They say a child brings joy, luck, and happiness in your lives. Every mother or a to-be mother will surely agree to this. Childbirth is a blessing, a dream, a lifetime moment to cherish for all mothers.
Is it truly that beautiful for all? No, maybe not. We got a call one morning from a very tired exhausted new mother, a mother of a two-month-old baby. She has been happily married for three years. The couple was surely on cloud 9 and was having the time of their life. They traveled across the country & enjoyed beautiful long rides on their favorite bike.
Things started to feel a little different when their gynecologist declared that they were pregnant. Their world suddenly changed overnight. All the conversations, all the plans now revolved only around the baby, and for the baby. Her husband, her mother, her friends, everybody around her just could not stop talking about the baby because everyone was so excited with the news of the arrival of their bundle of joy!
She felt, no one, not even her partner bothered to ask her how she felt. It’s been over two months now since she gave birth to her baby. The only thing she does is breast-feed the baby and change diapers like every mother would do.
One day she did not feel like feeding the baby, as she was stressed due to the constant nursing and babysitting. Due to all the stress she got into an argument with her mother earlier in the morning after a tiresome night when she requested her to feed the baby with a bottle.She is aware that no one would understand how she felt at the moment. As a counselor I listened to her carefully, respecting her feelings. I explained to her that she should seek some help for herself and the baby also needs extra care. Exposing the baby to infections may increase her stress even more in this situation. She needs someone to patiently listen to her, show some warmth, and some extra care.
Postpartum depression is very common! They are also known as baby blues. After childbirth going through anxiety, mood swings, and crying spells are known to some but hardly realized by some families in our society. Every society feels it is normal to feel this way but no one ever understands the depth of this issue that mothers go through.
I suggested that she should try to look at the positive changes the baby has brought into her life. Her family needs psycho-education. They should seek professional help as early as possible so that she does not miss the beautiful journey and memories a mother awaits all her life.
