The Myths Of Maternal Bliss

Baby suggs and Sethe are both the Mother figues in beloved and despite their suffering from slavery they both cared for their children greatly. Baby Suggs and Sethe connected through Motherhood to develop a close bond. They shared the love for their children a bond that all mothers can relate with. Sethe has four children that she loves very much but she could not deal with her past of sweet home. Sethe could not bare for that to happen to her children so she had to save them from the schoolteacher and slavery by trying to kill them. She kills one child whom is referred to as beloved for what is written on her tomb stone, but fails to kill howard buglar, and Denver. Sethe motherly natural instincts caused her

The chapter so far has shown what is conventionally considered ‘good mothering’, according to the models perpetuated by psychological theories and the prevailing social custom and practice.

In an article written about hard working mothers, all of the mother’s experience feelings of guilt and as if they are not doing enough for their child (Kuperberg 313). Just as the mother in the short story is feeling so much guilt for every last thing, other mothers experience it too. It is a very normal and healthy feeling to experience. It shows that as a mother, you care and you worry not only about what your child

Most people assume that parenthood is pure joy, but research shows that it can also be pure misery. In the article “Bundle of Trouble”, Robin W. Simon discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with parenthood. First, Simon notes that parenthood has several emotional benefits, like the prospect of being a grandparent and the satisfaction of watching a child grow up. However, Simon argues that the exorbitant cost of raising children is a major source of stress among parents. Lastly, Simon argues that there is a lack of social support (i.e. family, social institutions) to alleviate the social and economic issues associated with parenthood. One of the most significant ideas presented in the article is that raising a child

Second, children-parent attachment is very important to children development. According to Barnes (2006), “studies show a link between maternal depression and a new mother’s state of mind with respect to attachment”. Poor maternal-infant attachment is directly related to poor child development. Maternal-infant attachment enhances infant outcome (Barnes, 2006). Breastfeeding is one aspect of maternal-infant attachment that directly compliments children development. Infants that are not breast fed will not benefit from the more nutritious and anti-bodies rich breast milk. In retrospect, this may still be discussed under child development. However, poor maternal-infant attachment posed other health issues worth discussing separately. Being a mother is often very overwhelming to many women. Negligent parenting may result if there is no attachment between the parent and infant. Negligence poses increase health risk for the child as mentioned in the first paragraph. In addition, depressed women may respond to their infants with increased withdrawal and hostility making the child at risk for child abuse (Barnes, 2006). Consequently, child abuse may cause trauma that may affect the child’s lifelong psychological and cognitive health. Poor maternal-infant

Is there a common attitude society has towards women, and their roles as mothers? Betty Rollin, American journalist, reporter, and author, believes there is. She calls it the motherhood myth. She writes about this subject in her essay, “Motherhood: Who Needs It?” The myth is the idea that all normal women want and need to become mothers (Rollin 286). Rollin believes this is false, and argues that there is no biological drive or instinct, that makes women want to become mothers. Society reinforces this myth into us, through many forms of propaganda. Rollin argues against the belief that women’s most important role in life is to become a wife, and mother. She calls for the freedom to choose, and explains that becoming a mother is not an

There are times when new mothers are misdiagnosed and are given a lesser form of this depression. This is called having the baby blues, which is when a new mother experience’s mood swings, and anxiety. These symptoms can last one or two weeks after giving birth, where postpartum depression can continue on for months at a time. Even with baby blues having such a shorter time frame even after 2 weeks’ these new mothers are not being diagnosed correctly. In Mental Heath of Teen Mom Matters, Shiloh gives her experience “My son was crying and it was like the noise of scratching a chalkboard” (Reese p. 1) A new mom can face all these difficulties and my feel as though they do not have a maternal attachment to their

Only in recent history have significant strides been made to understand and treat postpartum depression. While the psychiatric disorder was written as long ago as 700 BC, by Hippocrates, it was not officially recognized as a medical diagnosis until the nineteenth century. Even in today’s society, individuals tend to harbor ill feelings toward postpartum depression, likely due to cultural beliefs and miseducation. According to the U.S National library of medicine postpartum depression is “moderate to severe depression in a woman after she has given birth, occurring soon after delivery or up to a year later”, (U.S National Library of Medicine, 2014). Women have been most widely identified as being impacted by postpartum depression, and for decades, research has focused on them, with limited data related to males. However, recent studies focusing on male postpartum depression, not only prove that men are affected by the disorder; potentially to the same extent as women, but also suggest that there is a likely correlation between either parent having the condition, and it consequently affecting both parents. Recent studies have found that, “prenatal and postpartum depression was evident in about 10% of men in the reviewed studies and was relatively higher in the 3- to 6-month postpartum period. Paternal depression also showed a moderate positive correlation with maternal depression” (Paulson and Bazemore, 2010, p. 1961). Given this

Social relationships, partnership dynamics, finances and responsibilities are changing. The uncertainties surrounding this unique role change can result in increased stress and anxiety (Hanley, 2015). Brunton et al. (2011) found that most women expressed worry in relation to labour and birth, coping in the postnatal period and fear about body changes. Clark et al. (2009) found that women were most dissatisfied with their body image in the early postnatal period. Body changes can be partially responsible for decreased intimacy between couples following child birth, further adding to women’s dissatisfaction and depressive feelings (Hanley, 2015). Additional challenges are faced by breastfeeding mothers in accepting the role of being mothers as well as sexual partners (Marques and Lemos, 2010).

The baby blues are much more common than postpartum depression in women after pregnancy. The incidence of baby blues are approximately four out of every 5 new mothers. Whereas postpartum depression accounts for 1 in every 5 new mothers. Maternal depression such as the baby blues or postpartum depression are cultural phenomenons. The text states that these feelings and symptoms after childbirth are not limited to the United States. In fact, they are observed in many developing and non-developed countries as well such as China, Australia, South America, etc. Researchers believe the main contribution to these feelings new mothers experience have to do with our physiological factors. Physiological factors such as changes in hormone levels are believed

Postpartum depression is the most common psychological complexity that occurs after childbirth (Bakhshizadeh, 2013). This form of depression has been reported to be as high as 20% (Asltoghiria, 2012). The mother will begin to experience postpartum depression between the birth of the infant and 6 to 8 weeks later (Bhati, 2015). Depending on the person, the typical length of postpartum depression ranges anywhere from two weeks to two years in length (Posmontier, 2010). It is thought that postpartum depression affects mothers of multiples at a greater incidence than mothers whom birth just one child, and the chance increases with the number of children in a multiple birth. Evidence shows that the older the mother’s age at the time of birth, shows there is no notable increase in the risk of being diagnosed with postpartum depression. Another factor that is thought to have an influence on the diagnosis of postpartum depression is income within the household. A study shows that as income goes down, the risk of having

The birth of a child is thought to be one of the happiest events that can occur in a family (Lowdermilk, Perry, Cashion, & Alden, 2016). Yet, for some the period after childbirth becomes a struggle to survive (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, & Hansen, 2015). It is estimated that 15% of new mothers develop postpartum depression (PPD) (Lowdermilk, 2016). Most feel that PPD only affects the mother. As a result, the consequences to the family have largely been overlooked (Kaakinen et al., 2015). Therefore this paper will explore the effects that postpartum depression (PPD) has on the family and how nursing can promote strategies to improve family health by utilizing the family systems theory.

The birth of a baby can generate a lot of powerful emotions. Emotions like excitement, joy, fear, and anxiety. It can also result in something you might not expect. In the early 1800’s postpartum depression was misdiagnosed by a physician and calling it “hysteria”. In this time period, physicians were only males so they were more dominant; and females were looked down upon. Postpartum depression is what a mother suffers from after giving birth. It is a combination of hormonal changes and psychological adjustment to motherhood. Mothers who develop postpartum depression are at greater risk of developing other major depressions later on in life, and have difficulty bonding with their babies. 100 years ago this wasn’t a diagnosis, it was very common and plenty of women went through it. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman, talks about how the main character in the story was suffering from postpartum depression, schizophrenia and obsession. These depressions led her to write this story to expose physician’s misdiagnoses and lack of understanding.

Everyone can identify with mothers as we have all had one in some way. Borrowing a saying from Forest Gump, mothers are ‘like a box of chocolates’ coming in all shapes, sizes, ages, colours and attitudes to their role. However, when we look at texts which privilege mothers, it is clear that a narrow view is being represented.

Midlife stresses are the result of a combination of personal, familial, social and biological variables, in which many depressive feelings and reactions are frequently thought to occur in conjunction with the empty nest period. Some of these variables include depth, breadth and personal meaning of the maternal role, level of self esteem, and the opinion regarding their children’s success or lack their of (Raup & Myers 1989). Consequently, the post-parental transition is a normal life occurrence that is primarily normative of stress. All mothers are potentially vulnerable to the effects of this period. However, the empty nest period also offers women the reestablishment of marital relationships, investments in other roles and other life satisfactions. It can be viewed as a time of pleasure, rather than a time of trauma. The empty nest period, with its entire negative potential, can represent a positive time of major life change for parents. Henceforth, it is a mother’s coping skills and lively reactions that are of greater significance to the effects of an empty nest. Healthy attitudes allow mothers to adapt and confidently facilitate the transitional process from active