Last night, as I was drifting off to sleep, I was thinking about National Volunteer week and the volunteers past and present that have and do contribute to the work of Mothers Helpers. It warms my heart to think of every single person that has contributed in some way. There is something about a Mothers Helpers volunteer. Every single person that has volunteered for Mothers Helpers in any capacity has had one thing in common: they are really good, kind and giving people. I love spending time … [Read more...] about Mothers Helpers Celebrates our Volunteers
I Wish Things Had Been Different
********TRIGGER WARNING ********* I have a heavy heart today. A woman I got to know amongst our Mothers Helpers forum had an accident recently - it is suspected suicide. She is currently on life support and is not expected to make it. A little over a year ago, I had many conversations with her, pleading for her to get some help. She was very resistant to the idea of medication and refused to believe that she needed medication to get better. Many women feel like this who struggle with … [Read more...] about I Wish Things Had Been Different
From One Mum to Another
by Mothers Helpers Founder Kristina Paterson It took me 18 months to go and get some help for the way that I was feeling. 9 of those months I was anxious throughout my pregnancy but the midwife didn't pick up on it. In the first week after my baby was born, I had a new midwife, and she said to me that if I was still crying by day 7 (hours of crying every day), then I'd have to go and see the doctor as I may have postnatal depression. So I forced myself to stop crying. I … [Read more...] about From One Mum to Another
Alone or Struggling this Christmas?
Christmas can be a tough time for people for all kinds of reasons. If that's your situation, then you wouldn't be the first person to discover that there is "no room at the inn" - a certain Saviour had a rocky start to life on Christmas morning with a cattle trough as a bed and his mother had to place her very pregnant self upon a donkey and travel for miles with no midwife attending to her! Whether it's just that financially you can't afford to indulge this year or whether it's that you are … [Read more...] about Alone or Struggling this Christmas?
Walking in the Shoes of a Solo Mum
Challenges The two main challenges I have faced as a solo mother (once the shock and grief and initial adjustment period had subsided) have been inadequate support and financial struggles. I have family but I have very little family support. Even when they moved back to the same city in which I lived, they never offered to take care of my son, never asked me if I needed anything - they waited for me to ask. And on the occasions I asked, sometimes they would say no. Consequently, my family … [Read more...] about Walking in the Shoes of a Solo Mum
High Expectations and Depression
It would be fair to say that for some mothers who have developed perinatal depression/anxiety, the "temperament" that researchers speak of that make some mothers more prone to developing it than others is not only that we're naturally a sensitive soul, but we can also place high unrealistic expectations on ourselves - setting ourselves up to fail and becoming disappointed with ourselves time and time again. Whether you are recovering from your first episode of perinatal depression or … [Read more...] about High Expectations and Depression
