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Can we stop pushing after we give birth?

When we deliver new life.
Leonie

Leonie

3 Min Read

“Push, push, push, bare down now stop, breathe, rest . Ok start pushing again”

Those are the words we often hear when we are giving birth, through hours of pushing and keeping the pressure on we are able to bring the life we created into the world.

We know not all pressure and pushing is always bad for us, as in the case of giving birth it helps us to bring new life into the world .

So why do we stop pushing if it could bring us what we want?

Giving up what we feel is right or what we truly want because it comes outside of our comfort zone; trading our strength and our power to be led down a path that has no life left, but at least it has been well travelled.

Not speaking up or pushing back because it would mean we are too different.

What does not pushing really mean for mothers?

Do we accept a diagnosis on a child that we know in our hearts are wrong?

Do we stop trusting our judgement with our children because on paper we are told we are not the experts?

Do we allow ourselves to step back when we know we could step forward?

Do we stay longer in unhealthy situations or relationships because to push forward seems to risky?

Do we settle and live someone else’s life and dreams because that is what we are told is in trend?

Do we silence our voice when we know our children and ourselves are being treated unfairly out of fear of being seen as opinionated?

Do we allow doors of opportunity to be shut around us because we are told motherhood is about sacrifice and not harmony between our desires and our children’s needs?

Do we continue to buy into a culture that does not acknowledge us as leaders of next generations leaders?

I am not suggesting we should push so hard that we stop living a life we can love, but perhaps we push far enough to align us to a place we feel brings us the opportunity and autonomy to live the life we choose to live, as apposed to the life we are told to live.

Are we in a position to stop pushing after we give birth as we are not just pushing to bring life into the world, but perhaps to allow that life to flourish?

Author(s)

  • Leonie

    Motherhood Journey consultant

    The empowerment of mothers has never been more important than it is now, we are slowly starting to wake up to the fact that mothers are often the dominant parental figure in a child's life, therefore is shaping the future of society with her ability to lead and nurture her children. Giving mothers the right tools to do so has never been more critical to the outlook on how our next generations leaders will look  and  what they will stand for. Thousands of mothers each year struggle with knowing their worth as it's not commonly celebrated the importance of mothers and their motherhood journey. Beyond mothers day mothers are expected to shrink and to fit into this stereotypical perception that the world has on mothers. We only have to look at the struggles mothers have accessing genuine and fulfiling careers or how they are still being shamed into "bouning back" quickly after child birth as if that is the most important aspect of motherhood.