By Syeda Fatima Shahid
Motherhood is an experience filled with love, responsibilities and various challenges. It provides you a sense of purpose and growth along with cherishing pleasures of motherhood. The unconditional love between a mother and her child feels unparalleled. It is a deep and indispensable bond that brings an emotional rollercoaster to your life. There are times of laughter and joyful moments but on the other hand you get frustrated and tired which sometimes leads to self-doubts. Your journey as a mother is filled with moments of pride since day one from watching your children take their first step, first word to their first achievement. This relationship gives women a new identity which makes them feel empowered and help them become stronger version of themselves. Do you agree that your children are your strength instead of weakness? Do you feel empowered as a mother?
Motherhood brings a sense of purpose and gives meaning to life that is to take care of your child, to shape their identity, to build their personality, and to teach them about life. As adults we often loose our spark and spirit towards life. Thankfully, being a mother, we rediscover the world that stimulates our curiosity and thoughts. So, it’s not just about teaching but mutual learning and growth. You get to enjoy those little moments when your baby giggles, cuddles or sleeps peacefully holding your hand which is truly magical and beyond words. Everyday becomes about celebrations and memories which are meant to be adored.
Challenges of Motherhood
We must remember that motherhood is all about sacrifices. Carrying a life inside you and taking care of it while surviving numerous changes physically and emotionally is tough. To feel the pleasures and experience of motherhood, you have to give up on a lot of things. During pregnancy, women typically experience a range of symptoms which they take it as a new challenge every day for almost 9 months. But things do not end here because post pregnancy is another difficult phase for a mother. Let’s look into these challenges:
Common Symptoms of Pregnancy
One of the important changes include hormonal imbalances which causes morning sickness. It can occur at any time of the day when usually women start feeling nauseous resulting in vomits. The rise in certain hormones generally cause headaches and dizziness. Moreover, it could easily trigger emotional ups and downs leading to severe mood swings. Their sensitivity to smell and taste also increases which makes them nauseous. This causes sudden food cravings as well for specific food items or dislike some too. Due to slow digestion women face difficulty in bowel movements followed by bloating and constipation. Also, mild cramps, frequent urination and fatigue are some of the common symptoms.
Physical Changes
During pregnancy, a women’s body undergoes several physical changes to support the growing baby. The most notable physical change is weight gain. Increase in weight typically varies between 11 to 16 kg for a healthy pregnancy. It is not easy at all to continuously carry a weight with growing belly. This is because it makes small things a big hassle like bending down, tying shoe lace or walking up stairs. Your clothes do not fit well so you have to dress accordingly. Furthermore, the extra weight leads to postural changes that puts strain on lower back. Pregnant women may also experience swelling in their feet, ankles and hands due to reduced blood circulation. The stretching skin especially on the belly and breasts may feel itchy or stretch marks could also appear on them. The hormonal changes can lead to sensitive gums that may bleed easily or nails that may grow faster but can become brittle.
Delivery Complications
Childbirth is a natural process but risks and complications may arise during labor and delivery. For instance, labor pain that occurs before 37 weeks of pregnancy. In such cases babies are born premature which may cause respiratory issues or underdeveloped organs. Another problematic condition in delivery is when baby’s shoulder gets stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone. This could be risky for both the baby and mother. Moreover, prolonged labors that last for more than 20 hours are also challenging. This is because there are possibilities of risks like infection, exhaustion or a C- section delivery. These risking factors might also involve heavy blood loss, injuries and serious surgeries.
Postpartum Depression
PPD is a type of depression that mothers go through after childbirth which affects them physically and emotionally. It comes with rapid shifts in mood swings from happiness to deep sadness. Getting frustrated, irritated or angry over small things is very common at this stage. Generally, new mothers get extremely worried for their baby’s health or constantly stay in a guilt of being a bad mother. Their anxiety and fear continue to grow. Some mothers also get disturbing thoughts about harming themself or the baby although they do not act on them. They struggle to form a close bond with the child and sometimes neglect to provide consistent care. On the other hand, mothers are physically drained as well. Women can feel physical discomforts like headaches or stomachache without any cause. They find their sleep schedule difficult that sometimes could not sleep and the other times could sleep too much. This depression is about behavioral changes as well where mothers start avoiding social interactions and feel isolated. They no longer enjoy their favorite activities. It is a very serious condition but its treatable which is why mothers should not be ashamed of it. Instead, they must seek help to recover and regain their confidence.
Role of Husband
Husband plays an essential role in supporting his partner during pregnancy. Firstly, he has to manage mood swings and anxiety while encouraging and offering all his love and patience. He must help his wife with the household chores to make things easier for her. It is husband’s responsibility to take care of partner’s diet, meals, exercises and give her rest accordingly. Moreover, he must be involved in this pregnancy journey through joining prenatal visits, taking parenting classes, planning finances and preparing for baby’s arrival. On top of that, husbands should look for any signs of depression or mental health issues in their partner because they are most likely to understand and support them unconditionally.
Motherhood and the journey of becoming a mother is a lengthy process. It brings cherishing moments and grinding challenges both as a mixture. We should take a moment to thank our mothers and wives for struggling with these hurdles and not just for some days but for lifetime. Because it is not as simple as it seems to read. Instead, much more than this goes on with them inside and outside that could never be explained.