Life as a Mother

Life as a new mother brings with it many changes, and these can take a while to get used to. Your life now revolves around your baby, and can mean looking after yourself takes a backseat. Looking after yourself however, is especially important in the postnatal period, where women's bodies need to recuperate after the exhausting mission of giving birth. Recovering after the birth is made harder by sleep deprivation and exhaustion, which go hand in hand with becoming a new mother. Eating healthily might be low on your priority list at the moment, but by eating well and exercising (when you feel up to it), you can help keep your body healthy and your mood lifted. Our section on life as a mother offers advice on issues such as how to recover after the birth, including postnatal incontinence, how to cope with sleep deprivation and exhaustion, how to get some much needed 'me' time, and diet and exercise tips for new mums.

Pages within this sub topic:

• Recovering After The Birth
  
• When Your Milk Comes In
  
• Baby Blues or PND?
  
• Coping With Sleep Deprivation and Exhaustion
  
• Post-Birth Incontinence
  
• A Sex Life After Baby
  
• Birth Control
  
• Bonding With Your Baby
  
• Getting Time To Yourself
  
• Sharing Responsibilities With Daddy
  
• Relationships
  
• Returning to Work
  
• The Working Mother
  
• So Much Advice
  
• Recovering After Caesarean Section
  
• Grandparents
  

Most women experience some form of baby blues after giving birth. Hormonal changes are the main reason for this, but sleep deprivation and recuperating from the birth can also contribute to feeling down. Some women experience severe baby blues that don't go away, which is called post natal depression. It's important to know the difference between the two as postnatal depression requires medication.

Relationships will also change once you have a baby. Pre-baby, it was just your partner and you, but now your baby is here there are three of you. Your relationship is bound to change now you have your new addition, and sometimes this can cause issues, such as one partner feeling left out, or neglected. Tensions can also arise if one parent feels their partner isn't doing their share of the childcare or household chores. See our articles on sharing responsibilities and relationships to ease your relationship through this change, as well as tips for managing relationships with friends and family.

You and your partner will probably have lots of questions about regaining your sex life after having a baby, such as when can I have sex again? And will it be the same? And don't forget to sort out birth control; you can get pregnant almost immediately after giving birth!

Although many mothers feel a rush of love as soon as they see their baby, for some mothers it takes a while longer to feel that emotional connection with their baby. This is quite common, and doesn't mean these mothers don't love their babies. Taking time to bond with your baby enhances your connection and helps you get to know each other.

Life as a single mother has its own challenges, and can be especially difficult in the first few weeks, when your baby is at their most demanding. However, things do get easier and just like dual-partner households, the vast majority of single parents have happy and fulfilling lives, providing loving and stable environments for their children.