Accessing Social Support
Asking for and accepting help is often the biggest barrier to wellness for many moms. Here in the US, our dominant cultural narrative tells us that to be strong, capable mothers, we need to be able to handle it all independently. It can be so very hard to admit we need help and to then take the steps necessary to get help. Knowing what you need and finding a person to ask for help are crucial for the overwhelmed mom. We will help you figure out what kind of help you need, identify social support resources, and offer real-life tips for how to ask for support.
Keeping Quiet about Postpartum is Hurting Us All
Today I want to talk about the power of silence over our wellness. To start I want to reflect on the first outing with my daughter when she was a newborn. She was probably 2-3 weeks old and I went with Taylor (NMP co-founder) to a Birth Network Central New York meeting. It couldn’t have been a better setting to take a newborn. It was a small group of mothers discussing birth advocacy in our area. If anyone would help me brave this first outing it would be this group. I was anxious about my first adventure as a mom.
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How to Really Find Out How A Postpartum Mom is Doing
As a mental health counselor I often find myself trying to elicit information from clients about their wellness. I’ve found over the years that just asking a general “how are you doing?” Doesn’t really get me much information. There are some folks who are open books, and can’t help but give a genuine in-depth answer to this question, but most people respond in brief. New mothers are no exception.
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10 Tips for Enjoying Your Postpartum Summer
When summer hits I instantly feel a shift in my psyche. I think outdoor concerts, barbecues, dinner al fresco, hiking, and beach days. When I had my daughter I really wanted to continue doing all the fun summer things we like, but at the same time I was nervous about taking a newborn out and about in the heat and sun of the summer.
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