Banish the 'blues', Mother the mother
Those post birth 'inevitable Baby Blues' that we are often widely led to believe are 'normal' don't happen anywhere near as much in cultures who invest in mothering the mother . Almost a rarity in cultures and communities that invest in and highly respect the postpartum period. A woman who has birthed has been to the ends of the earth with her body, mind and soul. In the 'developed world' we have largely un-learnt the importance of recognising, celebrating and protecting that. Our developed communities often forget to celebrate and support the completion of the momentous journey a woman makes from woman through childbearing wonder and birthing warrior to the final and almighty mother which signifies the beginning of an equally momentous new journey. There is barely a pause let alone moment savoured to recognise the incredible journey and accomplishment of birth, let alone celebration of the woman in most western communities. Birth is all too often validated by a large focus on the amazing small person who arrives at the end and how quickly the mother resumes normal life and how many life balls she can juggle. We have so much to re-learn from indigenous cultural traditions and much to teach about the incredible journey a mother makes to the small people we are raising.
The simplest of things post partum can make ALL the difference. Traditional nurturing from the mothers' 'tribe', dedicated TIME and TLC techniques that have meaning to the mother, all have real potential to banish the 'blues' that too many women experience in western developed worlds. With it too they have the power to banish the challenges of coping with post natal mental health issues whilst juggling motherhood, let alone all the other balls.
