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Our goal is to reach out to all moms who are experiencing or are about to experience the postpartum period and educate them on prevention and relief from postpartum illness. For me, (Jo) postpartum was a very difficult and challenging period of my life. After my experiences I want all new moms to know that they are not alone and that what they are going through is common. The goal and focus of this blog is to help women, couples, families, and their support networks find informational tools to help navigate them through the postpartum period. Our desire is for those who are already in this stage to feel hope, healing, and strength. Postpartum is a brief period of one's walk in life that can often be incredibly challenging, and because of this, our goal is to help you get over the postpartum baby bump in the road. Within this post, you will see common myths related to postpartum. Although they can’t all be answered in detail within this one post, you will see these myths busted throughout this blog.
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It seemed that I was doing great. I had dreamed about this, and I was going to be the perfect parent until I accidentally called my baby a "punk" for peeing all over me during a diaper change. That was the moment I distinctly remember realizing that I was, indeed, not perfect. In fact, I was (and still am) far from it. I began feeling inadequate and unfit for such a job. My excitement and joy started to decline. After speaking to many different moms over the years, I have found that not a single one of them have lacked feeling inadequate in some way or another.
Several weeks after my baby was born I knew that the postpartum “baby blues” weren't going away. Baby blues is a term that is used to describe the highs and the lows that the majority of women experience in the first few weeks after giving birth. In fact, 85% of moms experience it. It is a normal biological reaction to childbirth. The symptoms of baby blues typically subside within 3 weeks after delivery (Venis & McKloskey, 2007, p. 13-14). It would be a myth to say that a small percentage of moms struggle emotionally after having a baby. I had sworn to myself that after high school I wouldn't ever take meds again. Counseling? Are you kidding? That would have been a slap to my confidence and in my ability to manage my moods on my own. I couldn’t let anyone know that within my mind things were a disaster. So… I managed it on my own. To everyone else, I looked like a superstar. I had it all together. I mean, c'mon I never went out of the house without a bow on her head. However, like many new moms I have met, I did not feel normal.
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From the words of a good friend, "everyone has an invisible problem." One of my greatest regrets is not having let someone help me with my invisible problem during postpartum. I, like many other moms, didn’t take the step necessary for good health due to many foretold myths. It is a myth that postpartum depression isn’t serious unless a woman poses a suicidal threat to herself. It is a myth that all moms can be treated for illness the same way. It is a myth that most medication will pass through the breast milk and have an adverse effect on your baby(Rosenberg, 2003). Some medications are relatively safe to take while nursing. It is a myth that women will get over it without any lasting consequences. Some serious mood disorders like postpartum depression can carry life-long consequences for a woman and her family(Corwin, Kohen, Jarrett, & Stafford, 2010). Major depression can pose a risk to a child’s future. Children of depressed parents are at risk for depression, school problems, separation anxiety, emotional problems and suicidal behavior(Weissman et al., 1984).
There is no guarantee that the symptoms of depression will go away on their own. Many women suffer months or years without relief after being told these symptoms will subside(Rosenberg, 2003). For me, symptoms did not subside. I have 3 children, and with each child, my postpartum experience increased in severity. Lack of being aware of my risks and thinking that it would go away on its own had negative consequences. I will share these stories in future posts.
Throughout our blog, you will see many of these myths busted. Your challenge for the week is to jot down myths relating to postpartum and how you feel about them. For example, you might write, “The dangers of medications are not worth it. I feel that if I take medication while nursing my baby may end up with a disability.”
We always encourage those who read this blog to come up with questions you would like to have answered about postpartum illness in future posts. Please comment with your questions or leave a note in the survey below. We love feedback!
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