TARA MANDARANO
  • Blog
  • Editing
  • Published Work
  • Contact

Why Maternal Mental Health Matters So Much To Me

5/3/2019

6 Comments

 
Picture
My daughter was five-and-a-half weeks old when my husband captured this moment of me breastfeeding in my sister's bedroom on Christmas Day. It was 2013, and at the ripe old gestational age of 36, I had finally gotten the baby girl I had so desperately wanted and prayed for.

This looks like my Gisele moment, nursing my child while jauntily wearing a Santa hat, one leg propped casually on the bed for support. I am smiling. I have lost all the baby weight and then some. I seem happy.

Maybe I was in that moment. Maybe my colicky daughter was latching correctly for once. Maybe there was sufficient milk supply that day. Maybe I was just content to escape all the people downstairs talking at me and fussing over the baby. My family.

I was actually in the throes of postpartum depression underneath this mommy-bliss expression. I am dressed up in a cute blazer and skirt, showing off my tiny waist and Steve Madden boots, but really, I am deep in the trenches of postpartum anxiety.

This week is World Maternal Mental Health Week, and this photo is part of my motherhood story. A single, early snapshot of my transformative and magical journey. It was an incredibly difficult emotional time for me, and being overwhelmed about becoming a mum made me feel incredibly abnormal and guilty.

Now I can look back at that new mum and newborn baby and experience a healing feeling of empathy. It is normal and common for many women to feel this way, not just me. But we need to talk about it more, and not shroud it in such feminine secrecy.

We also need to feel comfortable asking for help from our friends and family. We need proper postpartum support and care, and access to medication and therapy. These are the things that saved me.

These are the things that saved me.
6 Comments
Jessica - A Modern Mom's Life link
5/5/2019 09:42:49

Sounds like we had a similar newborn baby time. Breastfeeding was a struggle for me but I did not want to give up. I had help from family but I still felt lonely, overwhelmed and on the verge of tears more often than not.

Maternal mental health is so so important. Good for you for sharing your journey!
~Jess

Reply
Tara Mandarano
5/6/2019 13:15:39

Thank you for reading, Jessica! Glad it resonated with you! And thanks for sharing a bit of your own story. x

Reply
Brandi link
5/5/2019 22:04:00

It is a definite struggle to have PPD. Mine was awful with my second child - nearly everything that could go wrong, did go wrong and he was 10 weeks early. Thanks for starting the conversation.

Reply
Tara Mandarano
5/6/2019 13:14:43

Thanks for reading, Brandi, and sharing a bit of your story. x

Reply
Britt Kascjak link
5/7/2019 11:04:36

This is a topic that definitely needs to be talked about openly more often. We focus on the happy mom, smiling in photographs and fail to consider what could be happening behind the scenes. Thanks for sharing!

Reply
Tara Mandarano
5/7/2019 12:39:30

Totally agree, Britt! Thanks for reading! x

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Tara Mandarano

    is a writer, editor, and poet. Her writing ​has been nominated for the Best-of-the Net award, and has appeared in The Washington Post, HuffPo, Today's Parent, Los Angeles Review of Books, and Motherwell, among numerous other publications. She is also an advocate in the mental health and chronic illness communities.

      Never miss a post!

    Subscribe to Newsletter

    Archives

    March 2022
    May 2021
    February 2021
    March 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    I'm Published by Mamalode!
    Picture
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Blog
  • Editing
  • Published Work
  • Contact