Becoming a mother is one of those leaps into the unknown, where, no matter how much you see examples of motherhood around you and no matter how much you read on the subject, nothing can prepare you for how you will feel once you start this journey until you're already on that road. 

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We see symbols or representations of Mothers all around us growing up, yet what we do not always see or realise is the seismic transition a woman undergoes in becoming one. The term for this is matrescence, the significant emotional, physical, psychological and social change a woman experiences. ​

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As you start your journey into motherhood, you may be experiencing one or more of the following:

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• Disillusionment over how you envisioned motherhood and having a baby would be 

• Difficulty balancing your own needs and self-care 

• Conflict with your partner or extended family 

• Anxiety, post-natal depression or trauma following a traumatic birth or distressing events in the lead up to giving birth 

• Triggers from your own childhood and upbringing 

• Challenges finding alignment between your parenting style and that of your partner's

• A sense of losing your identity or sense of self 

• Navigating parenting as a single mother 

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Quote: Motherhood book (page xiv), (page 2)

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"Few other life experiences provide an opportunity to know yourself like being a mother. Being a mother will tire you out, fill you with dread, and move you to tears. It will inspire joy, self-doubt, hilarity, contentment, rage, terror, shame, irritation, inadequacy, grief, anxiety and love. You will probably see yourself at your very best and your very worst" - Lisa Marchiano 

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You see life carrying on around you but you may be not ready for life to carry on yet. You may need time to acknowledge, grieve and commemorate your loss. 

 

Some clients I have worked with have voiced a need to 'remember' their baby and mark their loss but may not feel entitled to do so or not know how. I work with clients to provide a space where they can process their loss in their own time, in a way that they need to and in a validating space.