Articles by Annie Kellet

The Importance of Support

Having a baby for the first time is one of the most special and amazing experiences of a woman’s life.  It is a time that is filled with anticipation, planning and hope.  It can also be a time when you ask questions of yourself like:  What type of birth do I want? What sort of parent will I be?  Am I ready?  How will my life experiences influence my relationship with my baby?  These questions and many others can feel exciting and optimistic as well as challenging and confronting.  For first time mothers, birth and parenting have never been experienced so a whole new world is about to open-up and begin.  For women and families who are pregnant for the second and consecutive times the newness and naivete of the birthing and parenting experiences are not there but instead there is another wave and layer of questions, hopes, desires, joy, fears and expectations.

Most women find that support during pregnancy and the parenting a new baby are crucial to their physical and emotional wellbeing.  The support can come from a variety of sources; from family, extended family, friends, networks, joining established groups and support agencies, as well as initiating our own support groups.  Because birthing and parenting are such huge and potentially life changing experiences, we can place many expectations, demands and hopes on ourselves and it is possible that we can ignore and push aside negative feelings, emotions and experiences.  Our pain, suffering and distress may go unnoticed by others and sometimes our selves. 

Being at home with a baby and small children can be isolating and exhausting.  We need to be able to share the joy, the passion, the monotony, and all the other feelings we have with others so as we don’t feel alone and isolated in this amazing journey of motherhood and parenting.  The sharing of our experiences with other people that care ensures our whole wellbeing.  It weaves together sensations, feelings, thoughts and actions in ways that organize both our internal and external worlds. Telling and sharing our stories are at the core of our sense of history, our conscious connections with others and our sense of self in interpersonal and physical space.  It has positive effects on our immune system by releasing hormones that support nervous the system.  When we engage with others about our experiences it ensures our physical and emotional health.

When we neglect ourselves and do not acknowledge our experiences and feelings, it can lead to illness, post natal depression, post traumatic stress disorders and relationship breakdowns.  It is necessary to find the support that we need, and sometimes crave, or it can be to the detriment to our own wellbeing and the health and development of our baby and family.

Help, advice and support is readily available to enable healing, hope and wellbeing.  It is vital that we find the individuals, groups and modalities that will benefit us the most and help us deal with our emotions and discover and validate our own knowledge and wisdom.  It is important that we tell our birth and other stories, to differentiate ourselves from our parenting role, to acknowledge our own needs, to express our feelings and to celebrate our womanhood and our motherhood. 

Parenting is the most rich and deeply rewarding experience and journey. If we fully engage and feel alive, capable, competent and emotionally and physically available with our children and ourselves it will add to our own complex tapestry of life.

Back to our Experts

Meditation Articles