“I was never the woman who saw her baby on the screen and fell rapturously in love. I figured it would come once we met in person. It didn’t. And I felt terrified and ashamed. What mother doesn’t love their child at first sight?!”
‘I think there’s something wrong with me. I know I should love her, but I just don’t feel anything.’: First-time mom shares battle with postpartum anxiety, intrusive thoughts
Everything I Wish I Knew Before Getting Pregnant With My Rainbow Baby
“Getting pregnant after a miscarriage can be triggering, but be gentle with yourself.”
‘Your baby girl isn’t growing properly.’ My daughter doesn’t need changing. This world does.’: Mom to daughter with dwarfism advocates for inclusion
“Without much explanation, the doctor headed back to her office to look over the measurements, leaving me to delve into Google. Without enough info, full of fear and armed with nothing but shock and anxiety, I stumbled upon scary statistics, a lack of information and words that seemed jumbled on the page.”
‘I heard the word ‘defect’ among whispers. Tears flowed, but her worth remained unchanged.’: Mom shares daughter’s journey with Down Syndrome, heart diagnoses
“I had my 20-week anatomy scan. This is always my favorite appointment, where the sonographer details every portion of the growing baby, and I go home to put a perfect sonogram photo on the fridge. This appointment was different.”
‘I took three pregnancy tests, and all of them showed positive. ‘I’m going to be fired.’ I cried over my shame all the time.’: Single mom shares journey, urges ‘leave all the shame behind’
“‘If what I did was a mistake, I would make that mistake ten times over again to get this kid.’ There should be no shame in that.”
‘I told my doctor I was starting to hate my husband. I said things to him and my son that will always haunt me.’: Young mom shares healing journey through postpartum anxiety, rage
“My husband and son felt like they always had to walk on eggshells around me to prevent one of them from triggering me.”
‘There is no right or wrong. There’s just you and your baby.’: Mom shares words of encouragement for new moms and moms-to-be
“You can read the books, seek advice, and get the room ready. But until the baby comes, no one‘s ever sure what it’s going to be like for them. We are all just guessing, learning, and trying to adapt to our ever-changing lives.”
‘The sonographer said, ‘I see more than one!’ Our first pregnancy, but we were blessed with two guardian angels.’: Mom shares loss of twins to Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome
“Before we left the hospital, we held our babies one last time. With tears streaming down our faces, we promised them we would survive this for them and live every day in their honor. I walked with them to the elevator where we were forced to part ways.”
‘Unmarried, unprepared, and unconvinced. I feared shame and judgment would follow my baby bump and I on campus.’: Young mom talks embracing your reality, ignoring stereotypes
“I was looking in the mirror hours after seeing that pink positive sign, evaluating my worth, my life, and my purpose like it could be my last day.”
‘The person she’ll become tonight will awe the person she is right now.’: Mom reflects on childbirth, shares words of encouragement for new moms
“‘Here we go,’ she texted me, with a photo of her in a hospital gown, lovely and tired. I felt ever so vividly where she was.”