How frustrating can your maternity leave be? Most mothers look forward to it, but for this lady the experience was ghastly!
Too much maternity leave can be frustrating! And I am not saying this because I had one. No! I never had one. Instead, I just quit my job during the most difficult phase of pregnancy. For me, the entire time I was home was a frustrating phase. However, I will tell you my story some other time! For now, I want to share something that happened to my friend.
My friend is hardworking, extremely professional, and highly qualified. But she had the most devastating time while on her maternity leave – something that disturbs me whenever I think about it.
It is said that post-delivery, a new mom needs to be showered with love. Just as the baby requires all the attention, so does a mother who may be suffering from postpartum blues, not to forget, the stress of childbirth. While most new fathers are back at work within 2 weeks, the new mom pretty much flies solo after the first week. It is a really tough time. But in a lot of cases (and especially in India), moms and mums-in-law visit their daughter/daughters-in-law to help. It is supposed to be a state of bliss. All that a new mother is meant to do is constantly breastfeeding. Stay at home in your pajamas watching day time TV and eating healthy food, checking Facebook, taking selfies of you and your new baby, and using those amazing Instagram filters to hide your puffy bags. But in my friend’s case, it was a completely different experience.
By the end of 3 weeks of her maternity leave, she was regretting her decision to have stayed back at home. And no, just in case you are thinking, she is not a bad mother. Nor is she the sorts to deprive her baby of anything which is classified as pure love. But something happened every day that she was home that made her want to scream and run back to work! I’ll share this with you so you can take some reassurance if going through the same phase, or help out someone you know. To be continued…
