BELFAST: Motherhood can be a source of joy, but it can also pose difficulties and challenges – particularly, in the postnatal period. It is a time when some mothers’ emotional and physical endurance is pushed to the limit.
There is an expectation that having a baby will result in the rosy glow of motherhood. But postnatal depression can leave many women with a persistent feeling of deep sadness, and a loss of interest in life.This may reduce their ability to care for their baby, or may leave them with thoughts of self-harm or even suicide.We conducted interviews with mothers with mental health problems during the postnatal period.
With this internal conflict, mothers describe feelings of guilt and shame about their mental health problems, coupled with a belief that they were not deserving of motherhood: I was getting more and more anxious. They’re looking at me, they’re thinking I’m a terrible mother, I am a terrible mother. The mothers also felt they are judged more harshly than fathers, due to widely held assumptions that women have instinctual love for their children.THE REALITY OF MOTHERHOOD