I'm fine! I'm thrilled

Yayy, good news! Congratulations!!

Maternity shoots

It's a !

Baby shoots

How lovely... 

My grandmother used to say, "becoming a mother is the most beautiful moment a woman can experience". 

She hasn't slept properly for days, doesn't even know if it's day or night, just doing the routine job of feeding the baby, and celebrating with others. When asked about how she is, she says, "Yeah, um, I'm fine! I'm thrilled," but she questions herself why she doesn't feel that way.

She musters all the courage and with fear expresses her dark emotions, about how she's going through a weird feeling that was supposed to be cloud nine. Her family calls her a monster, telling her to get out of that space and be there for her child and to Grow up.

She curses herself, filled with guilt for not being able to care for her child the way her family wants, the way society expects, and most importantly, the way she dreamed all her life.

She still posts her baby's growth on social media, she still posts her routine of new motherhood. Yay, loving this life! Sighing, if only it were that easy...

She thinks, eventually it'll be okay. Eventually, I'll be happy. She just builds her life around that dark cloud.

You must now be thinking, "Poor woman... Ugh, who lets her go through all of that? In this age! What are we?!"

 These are 25% of the mothers in the total country population and 10% of the global population. These are the women around our neighborhoods, who knows, they might even be in our families.

Let me enlighten you all: the woman who just had her baby is suffering from Postpartum Depression (PPD). This is a serious mental health condition that affects women after childbirth. It's characterized by persistent sadness, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness.

Worst cases have led to self-harm.

Now that I think of it, there was a story my grandmother used to tell about my aunt, who hadn't touched my cousin for days. Everyone thought she must have been possessed by evil forces and spent all their earnings on rituals. Little did they know that she needed medical attention.

Now don't get all riled up saying, "How in those days would she have gotten medical attention?" There will always be at least one solution to a problem.

PPD isn't a myth or something in their head that will go away if they snap out of it or see people. One of the reasons for this can be stress, peer pressure to do everything by the book, get it right the first try, be mature, responsible, and perfect. Another factor is hormonal changes. The body goes through a massive transformation that requires a lot to function normally.

So my dear caretakers, don't ever say, "Oh, my mother didn't have this, why are you overreacting?" 

Worst case, mothers, please don't tell your daughters that they're just overreacting.

Although motherhood is a beautiful phase, understand that they struggle, they have a lot to handle and a lot to learn. 

The most important thing to do as a society is to keep an eye on our surroundings and observe this.All you need to do is recognize any patterns of unusual behavior and reach out to them.

To mothers who are figuring it out, don't worry, no matter what, you're always doing your best. Reach out to people and resources when in need, don't fear anything. 

You are as much as important as your kid.

-Hope