Being a mother is perhaps every girl’s lifelong dream. It often shows in the way they roleplay with dolls and treat them as their children. Some will not even let an hour pass without the dolls in their arms and throw a fit if the parents take them away.
Despite that, when these girls turn into women, they realize that it is not always easy to find a man they can build a family with. Many of them end up as single parents and really struggle to keep women’s health together, especially if their partner bails on them or is too messed up to keep.
In case you become a single mother before giving birth, though, it is understandable how it may harshly affect your mental health. As a single parent, you are at the most vulnerable phase of your life; the family you wished to give your child is already broken before they even arrived. But as much as you may want to give up, you should:
Think About Your Unborn Child
The first thing that you should think about is the well-being of your unborn child, especially the future child mental health. Many experts have stated that a baby could feel everything the mother feels when they’re in your womb. So, if you are restless, they become restless. When you are always crying and depressed, it may have an adverse effect on them. Poor mental health problems could hurt your baby so you should seek out additional care and support.
Because of that, you need to try to be happy all the time. You have the power to increase or decrease the risk factors affecting your child’s mental health. Hold on to the love you feel for your child. Remember: the primary goal is to help your unborn child develop healthily and avoid poor health and child behavioral problems. If you need to watch many comedies or be around your loved ones or go on a trip, go for it regardless of your socioeconomic status. There should be no room for anything that may jeopardize your baby’s development and child health.
Consider That Single Parenting Might Be Better For You And Your Maternal Mental Health
No woman wants to be a solo parent from the beginning – not even adoptive young mothers. The need to have a partner in life is strengthened when you create a new life with someone special. However, there are also instances when it is better to be single instead of coupling with your child’s father.
The perfect example of that is what Jenna went through in the Waitress musical. Assuming you hadn’t seen the show when it was still on Broadway, you should know that she was a waitress with a verbally – and almost physically – abusive husband. When Jenna realized that she was pregnant, she felt so scared about it. It didn’t help that her good-for-nothing husband asked her not to love their baby more than him. Jenna waited until she was in the delivery room to tell her husband that she wanted him gone, but she did it anyway.
I know a lot of women like Jenna in the world. And believe it or not, it is always more ideal to raise a child alone than to expose them to such toxic relationships where you have to constantly be examining mental health of everyone involved.
Allow Your Loved Ones To Support You
A common reason why a pregnant woman may find it challenging to deal with single motherhood is a lack of support from friends and family. That is especially true if they turn their back on their loved ones, only to be betrayed by the man they picked over the latter. Pride may also get in the way as they want to prove to everyone that their pregnancy is not a mistake. Single mom pregnancy, mental health is a crucial consideration. A mental health condition, such as postpartum depression and other depressive symptoms, doesn’t make it any easier after childbirth.
Still, here’s a newsflash: not everyone is too evil to keep on taunting you after knowing what you are going through. Perhaps your family is upset because of what you have done to them. That’s okay; they have the right to feel that way. However, if you are scared of getting rejected by them when you wish to come home, there’s a high likelihood that it is a baseless fear.
As for child health, you need to believe that some people genuinely care about you and your baby, and all there is to do is to let them in your world. This way, being a single mother won’t feel too impossible anymore.
Deal With Negative Thoughts Much Later
Are you still unable to get over your breakup with your unborn child’s father? Do you often lie awake at night and think about what has gone wrong in your relationship? Does being a single parent cause symptoms of depression and affect your overall mental health and well-being, and cause you some behavioral problems?
Although I would typically recommend facing your problems head-on, it may not be suitable for pregnant young mothers, especially those at a young maternal age. As mentioned above, an unborn child can feel every emotion that the mom experiences. Dealing with negativity while your baby is still under the developmental stage in the womb may cause complications later. Don’t let your maternal depression or postpartum depression bring you down. There are many single mothers’ resources you can check out such as child welfare centers and postnatal health care programs.
If you can wait to do that until your due date, that will be incredible for your child.
Bottom Line
No one blames you for becoming a single mother during your pregnancy, whether you have chosen to be one or not. For the sake of single mom’s mental health, pay zero attention to them because their comments will do nothing but mess with your head. Aside from being healthy, you need to be mentally stable so that you can prepare to be a mom and dad to your baby.
Good luck!