Great Expectations
Every so often, the birth of a baby sends a woman into a classic postpartum depression. Despite its rarity, it is a well-delineated disorder, rooted in the dramatic hormonal shifts of childbirth.
Far more common is a subtler kind of sadness that sets in after childbirth. According to an increasingly vocal chorus of nurses and educators, our expectations for childbirth in America are wildly unrealistic. The culture puts forth a fantasy version of events in which mothers instantaneously find love and fulfillment.
Reality makes disappointment inevitable. Early life with baby tends to be extremely disorganized and chaotic.
Peg Harmon, a childbirth educator at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, urges new mothers to be gentle on themselves. "I reassure them that they will find their way."
Photo: A mother with her newborn ((c) J. Cornuau/Phototake)
