Motherhood can be a lonely time

So you find yourself sitting at home, looking at your new baby who has finally settled into a sleep after feeding for what might seem like the last six hours continually. Your home might be a little untidier than usual, the washing is piling up, you have given up on the idea of bothering to iron anything (flat clothes are slightly over-rated anyway!) and you can’t remember the last time you got to have twenty minutes to yourself.

Your partner may be spending long hours at work (still trying to catch up on the backlog from his paternity leave) and the influx of visitors that wanted to greet the baby have slowed to zero as everyone else returns to their day to day lives.

And here you are… coming to terms with your new “normal”.

During Birthability coffee mornings (offering Bump and Newborn support) we often have a “topic” of conversation which people can dip in and out of as they wish. We are always so proud that our mums are so honest during these discussions. They don’t sit there and dress up how things are going to show off how brilliant they are at being parents.  Instead they share their experiences openly, offering a realistic perspective that sometimes it is hard to cope, and are therefore able to gain solace that they aren’t the only ones feeling that way.

One week I asked the mums how they felt emotionally:-

15% – Said they loved being with their baby and had no concerns.

22% – Felt that they thought it would take time to adjust to their new roles, and were wondering if they could ever accept that this was “the future” for them.

63% – Admitted to feeling “Isolated and lonely”.

Our small team loves to coo over babies – but we are especially interested in offering the mums a listening ear.

Since we set up our weekly coffee sessions, we have had many mums telling us that we provided the most important service that they accessed. Mums feel that we provide an “anchor point” in their week.

During the session you are able to sit down and be waited on with a cup of tea and a biscuit, chat to others, and feel like an individual again.

We also really encourage you to share your details with each other, so that you can meet up outside of our group.  Be brave and reach out to “strangers” around you – it could be the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Hope to see you there.