My Birth Story of Baby #1

While I remember elements of each of my births, my first one definitely stands out. It was a horrible and wonderful time. My perfect, sweet daughter was born free of complications, and we were both healthy... BUT my feelings of upset, confusion, and worry throughout the labor and delivery process created a chain reaction that, combined with other factors, resulted in postpartum depression. 

In my experience of postpartum depression, I struggled to form an attachment to my daughter and had wildly outrageous ideas of putting her up for adoption and skipping town. This thought pattern is completely unlike me: I love babies, I love being a mom, I'm a hard-worker and a never-give-uper... so when I started to feel and vocalize these thoughts, a huge red flag should have gone up. Unfortunately for me, that was not the case.

In this video I offer some commentary on how an occupational therapist could have helped me from suffering and developing postpartum depression following the birth. While mental health awareness has grown in leaps and bounds since I gave birth 14 years ago, we still have more progress to make. This is especially true during the maternal period while rapid life and hormone changes create huge barriers to good mental health. 

Certainly, good mental health is possible during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and beyond, but in order to provide this wellbeing, we need to ensure that all mothers are getting the client education, training, and support they need. This is important for the child's development, but it is also important for moms.

As healthcare providers, we must prioritize mothers during this vulnerable stage. So much of momma's life trajectory and the life trajectory of her baby and other family members are contingent on this. The social determinates of health matter. 

Wishing you all good mental health and a happy birth day!