Giving Birth: A Time Of Transition

That precise moment of birth can mark a before and after in the life of any woman. And it is that bringing a new member of the family into the world is not something that happens every day.

If we ask anyone when a woman becomes a mother, the most likely answer will be when she gives birth. However, this only constitutes the physical birth, not the psychological one. 

We all know that the latter is much longer and that it has different phases. Childbirth is only a key moment in which the mother is tired, happy, relieved or even overwhelmed.

This is something that often cannot be put into words, but it will remain in the memory of every woman. Whether or not the birth of a child is a first time is an absolutely crucial moment that will define the rest of a woman’s life.

At the limit of your capabilities

We are not going to fool ourselves, the experience of birth and the following weeks are full of “little incidents” that make us question absolutely everything. In fact, it is often said that there is nothing more maternal than ambivalence.

So the tasks that from that moment on we will have to perform will become an adventure worthy of a movie. This, of course, will alter not only the mother’s daily rhythm, but also the vital one.

The first cry and her look

A baby’s first cry is often defined by moms as an alarm that awakens a whole new part of themselves. Until now, communication between mother and child had been totally silent through playful kicks, but the moment the mother can appreciate the child’s voice, everything changes.

Likewise, feeling the weight and warmth of the baby on the lap is usually another key moment in the development of the mother’s identity and in the awareness of the new connection.

The first breastfeeding

The first experience of breastfeeding is a decisive step in the maternal relationship, since from then on the mother and the baby begin to know and communicate with each other. This is undoubtedly another change of perspective for the woman who becomes a mother.

And finally eternal satisfaction

Without a doubt, the greatest psychological impact after birth comes from the feeling of achievement and fulfillment. The mother is a cocktail of emotions and if asked, she will not be able to specify which are the feelings that most define her.

Thus, from this moment on, every little act or event constitutes wealth. From then on, each experience will be part of the definition of a woman as a mother and as being in the world.

If all goes well, this in turn will strengthen the bond in the couple, because the feeling of having achieved something as beautiful and incomparable as life will provide greater reinforcement to the love and commitment of both.

When a mother takes her child for the first time the whole world is turned upside down by the strong feeling of emotional belonging that explodes. That is why giving birth in a giant step in the creation of the new identity of the mother. A path that will make nothing and nobody ever be the same in this world.

Bibliographic source consulted: The birth of a mother by Daniel Stern and collaborators.