At a postnatal group today we were thinking about finding some balance and me time, and how difficult that can be with a young baby.
We also discussed Barclay’s research (1997) on becoming a mother and considered how this represented the experiences of the group (research linked in the comments). For this research women in the first few months of parenthood discussed how they felt about their experiences and some common themes were identified.
The image above shows these themes and feelings associated with them.
In our discussions today there was a consensus that perhaps we are not always prepared for some of the realities of parenthood. We discussed that perhaps more honesty might be needed in the way motherhood is presented in the media, social media and by friends and family. This honesty in turn could make women feel safer to talk about how they are feeling, and their experiences of motherhood.
There can be many barriers to this though and events like todays help to break those barriers down, it was good to be able to facilitate the discussions today and listen to the women involved speak very honestly about their experiences. They liked the fact that there was research out there supporting what they were saying.
If you would like know more or would like to chat through your experiences please feel to get in touch.
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