Postnatal
The postnatal period of time refers to the time after birth. Similarly to the antenatal period of time it is also full of many emotions, questions, worries and excitement but there is also the added element of a new baby (possibly more than one for our twin/triplet parents!), along with the marathon your body has been through, no matter how you delivered.
During this time, there is so much to adjust to, all while your body and mind is processing the arrival of your bundle of joy. At Parent Pathways, our personal experiences during our postnatal period of time are what has motivated us to begin this work. We are passionate about making sure that everyone has access to any support they need during this time to help the journey into the fourth trimester and beyond as smooth as possible. Everybody has their own story and although we all have similarities to our stories, we all feel differently about different things. What may be a difficult thing to process for one person, may be a breeze to process for another. No matter what your experience and how your experience made you feel, your feelings are valid. What is traumatic for one person, may not be for another and vice versa, so it is important as individuals to not fall into the trap of comparison.
“Comparison is the thief of joy’ Theodore Roosevelt
It is important however to acknowledge that during the postnatal period of time it is possible that parents mental health can be affected. 68% of women and 57% of men with a mental illness are parents. Although this is a possibly surprising statistic, it is one to be aware of to help to ensure that we all know that if we feel that we may be suffering with any postnatal mental health issues such as; Post Natal Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Post natal anxiety we are not alone. Please do take a look at the signposting page for details of where you could reach out for help.
At Parent Pathways there are a number of things we hope to support you with postnatally including; access to Mummy MOT, paediatric first aid, self care for parents, signposting to NHS & private services, resources for postnatal period and much much more……….
Taking steps
The importance of coming to terms and acknowledging current feelings, the how's and the why's, will make planning a way out easier to navigate a way out. We encourage all forms of help available from counselling, seeking Midwife advice and of course reaching out to organisation that understand exactly what you are going through with ways of combating your situtation with friendly help and support.
Postnatal
Parent Pathways Helping new parents to thrive and grow
