Discouraging & Disempowering Mothers
It's frustrating meeting so many new mothers who have been discouraged and disempowered by the people around them.
Who are trying so hard to listen to their inner voice, only to be told that their instincts are wrong and they are creating bad habits.
"The nurse told me that I'm breastfeeding her too much..."
"The GP said he should be falling asleep without my help by now..."
"My mother said I pick him up too quickly when he cries..."
" A woman at my mother's group said I have to start putting her down drowsy, but awake..."
Believe it or not, women do know how to mother their babies. They want to respond to their cries. They want to hold them. They want to cuddle them. They want to soothe them.
When they force their babies into irregular routines or habits that disrupt the mother-infant bond and go against what their gut is telling them, they often do it because "so-and-so" told them to and warned them of the dire consequences if they didn't follow through.
This is crazy.
What our society should want is for new mothers to enjoy their babies and become confident in their ability to parent them.
We don't achieve this by belittling women, or by giving them advice and information that goes against their intuition.
However, we WILL achieve this by supporting mothers and encouraging them to parent from their heart and to follow their instincts.
Then, and only then, will new mothers go on to not only enjoy and thrive in motherhood, but to realise that they're actually doing a damn good job of it too.
Georgina Dowden is a mother, midwife and lactation consultant (IBCLC).
In her day to day life, she looks after her two beautiful children and also supports other families on their parenting journey.
If you would like to get in touch for breastfeeding or sleep/settling support, please email:
Skype/FaceTime consultations available OR home visits if you live in the Northern Rivers of NSW.
