Well, that’s it. If I get pregnant again I’ll move to India… The problem is, I don’t have an Indian family to do all that for me… But I might move to Spain for a while…it is not as good as India, but new mums get more help than what I see in Ireland. The family of a new mother in Spain gets heavily involved in supporting and helping out the new mum during the first months after the birth and even years I would say. it is not seen as a favour, it is just a way of life.
This article on the Telegraph says that new mothers should stop worrying so much about getting back to pre-pregnancy shape and style of life, and give themselves time to recover and bond with their newborn. I couldn’t agree more. But is not easy. at all. In one hand you have the social pressure of getting back into shape as soon as possible, and on the other, I don’t see in this country a good level of family support in these situations…
What do you think? Did you get the support you needed from family/friends after the arrival of a new baby?
Unfortunately,
I have not had the opportunity to participate in the up’s and down’s of pregnancy and motherhood, but it is refreshing to know that Indians place such a value on motherhood and helping the mother to bond with the child. It is so true that I think in the United States (and I guess Ireland) that we place such a big emphasis on mothers getting back to their pre-preganancy shape. Childbirth is such a process and the mother/child bond should take priority.
I will say that I didn’t get the support that I needed from family and friends with my marriage though. A lot of older unhappily married and/or unhappily single married women were rude. It is hurtful when you embark upon a major life change without the support of loved ones. Thanks for providing a platform to discuss things like this
In Ireland it’s quiet different here, we have our parents to support us but we are trying possibly too hard to be independent for our self. I envy the Indian approach as we only have hot baths and in some case still have to work to live in this environment.
Yes, I am one such lucky person/Indian women – where my mum has been with me after I gave birth to my lovely daughter Pranu(3 yrs back). Yes, in India they give such importance to new mums to bond with their child.. and i feel really bad looking at some women have to start doing their day-to-day tasks within a couple of days since they have given birth (or gone through such emotional happiness/pain).