Shout Out to Mamas Uncut

'I thought the staff were trying to kill me': the illness that can haunt new mothers - by Gary Nunn with The Guardian

'I thought the staff were trying to kill me': the illness that can haunt new mothers by Gary Nunn Experts are divided over what causes postpartum psychosis, which can leave mothers of newborns detached from reality Sarah Hayes, who has suffered from postpartum psychosis, with her son Alex, who was a few months old at the time. When Sarah Hayes’ son Alex was born 24 years ago, she wasn’t just happy – she was euphoric. “I couldn’t believe Alex was mine. Even after 30 hours of labour, I was full of energy,” she says. “I was so elated, I couldn’t switch off and sleep.” That lack of sleep lasted six nights straight. In the middle of the night, she would write poems. “It was so out of character,” she says. When back home, Hayes, now 49, believed she saw herself on TV. It was a news story about a woman who had won the lottery and hadn’t known. It showed Sarah and her family. She excitedly called up to her mum, who was visiting. Continue reading...

The Unexpected Loneliness of New Mothers by Guy Winch Ph.D. with Psychology Today

The Unexpected Loneliness of New Mothers Why it happens — and what parents of newborns can do. by Guy Winch Ph.D. Few new parents have accurate expectations of how much their lives will change after the birth of their first child. The physical and mental exhaustion, and the constant attention newborns require, leave virtually no time for the individual pursuits or relationship activities that had characterized their lives previously. Even those who anticipate these challenges rarely anticipate their intensity. But there is one challenge few new parents see coming, especially nursing mothers — loneliness . One might think that having a newborn by your side (or on you) virtually every minute of the day and night would lead to the opposite problem — to craving alone time. But while new mothers might feel extremely connected to their newborn, they often feel extremely disconnected from everyone else — including their spouse. Con...

The #1 thing new moms need? To show up + support us by Heather Marcoux with Mother.ly

The #1 thing new moms need? To show up + support us By Heather Marcoux When you have a baby, especially your first baby, people want to help. They bring over what seems like hundreds of onesies, books on child-rearing, bottles they swear calm colic, piles of receiving blankets and So. Many. Tiny. Toys. Most parents appreciate the gifts, but according to experts, what new parents really need in the first month of baby’s life can’t be found in stores: We need support—from ourselves, our loved ones and our communities. This gathering of a village doesn’t only help ease the transition, but has also been shown to lessen rates of postpartum depression and anxiety . Continue reading...

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