Then there’s us- the ones in the trenches with fresh postpartum moms- and all we have to say is STFU to anyone speaking on behalf of all moms from a place of privilege.
The privilege of an easy pregnancy.
The privilege of a smooth postpartum recovery.
The privilege of no complications for mom or baby.
The privilege of health.
The privilege of no PPD/PPA.
The privilege of a fantastic maternity/paternity leave.
The privilege of sound sleep and easy feedings.
The privilege of feeling a strong bond with your baby.
We promise, if you knew a mom with a baby freshly cut from her abdomen, or one dealing with stitches from a deep 4th degree tear, you wouldn’t say a word about her needing support. So why is it that if a new mom is struggling mentally or emotionally, or a mom is gathering her tools for her postpartum tool belt, it’s okay to be completely dismissive of her experience by making judgement-laced comments about how perfect their own postpartum recovery + baby’s first few months were? It’s passive agressive...at best.
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The first couple of months in quarantine were spent in two of your homes (Jordan in one, Amy in another). We spent more nights at your house than our own while the world was shut down. We spent hours watching the news together- along with mindless shows to distract us- and just talking about the fluid nature of the virus. We connected over toilet paper rolls and the best clicklist tips. We were each other’s small slice of normalcy even though the topics of toilet paper and groceries were never in “normal” conversations before 2020.
As spring turned into summer, we listened to your voices crack as your due dates neared. The hope you had that things would be better when it was your turn deliver had faded. We listened to you breaking down- and grieving the birth /postpartum experience you imagined. We supported you as you collected yourself and made new plans.
Month after month, we watched you birth your babies. And we felt the masks on our own faces becoming wet from the tears of joy we shed as we watched you hold your babies for the first time. We savored the hours spent together inside the bubble of your labor & delivery room...where things strangely felt normal.
