Antenatal & Postnatal Coaching
Preparing Mothers for the Changes Being a Parent Brings
Preparing for Motherhood
Being a mum brings so many changes into your life; some of them are wonderful, others may be perplexing and confusing. One thing you can be sure of is there’s no way of knowing how you’ll cope with being a mother until you’re actually doing it.
“Becoming a mother is like discovering the existence of a strange new room in the house where you already live. I always liked this description because it’s more precise than the shorthand most people use for life with a newborn: Everything changes.” Adrienne Lafrance
One of the dominant concerns new mothers have is about the loss of the person they used to be, before they gave birth. Will they ever get that person back, they wonder? Will their relationships ever return to what they were?
What Does Coaching Provide?
As a nurse and midwife I’ve witnessed the journey new mums take many times. Many of them struggle to live up to impossible standards, or expect to feel a ‘certain way’ once they become a mother. Others enjoy the burst of adrenalin when their baby arrives, but then feel abandoned and lonely once everything goes ‘back to normal’.
My antenatal and postnatal coaching is all about accepting the kind of changes new mums experience, in their bodies, their emotions, their relationships and their daily lives. Together we find ways to chart a steady course, and explore:
- How to manage your role as a mother
- Who you are now, and how that differs from who you were
- The myths around motherhood – dispelling those that can do you harm
- Skills for surviving broken nights, and poor sleep
- How to communicate clearly with your partner about what you’re going through
- Techniques for challenging negative thought patterns
