Parenting Support – help with parenting a baby or toddler, adjusting to parenthood, strengthen your relationship with yourself, your baby and your partner – we can help
“If a community values its children it must cherish its parents…” ~ J. Bowlby, 1951
Society’s expectations don’t seem to reflect a cherishing of parents. At a most vulnerable time in life when we need to be protected and tenderly cared for, there seem to be great expectations about returning as quickly as possible to pre-pregnancy functioning.
Pregnancy and the postpartum periods are highly vulnerable times for all women and their families. It is a time of increased stress due to the enormous changes that accompany such a major life change. Becoming a parent requires complex adjustments to the many changes that take place when having a baby – changes that are physical, emotional, practical, social and relational. We believe all parents need special care and attention at this important time.
At core, having a baby is about forming and developing a new relationship. One of the psychological challenges for parents in the first year is to get to know their baby as the unique little person that they are, while providing a sensitive, warm environment where each parent is physically and emotionally present for their baby as much as possible.
Becoming a parent encourages us to think about ways in which we were parented and to consider which aspects we wish to bring with us into our relationship with our own baby and which aspects of being parented we wish to leave firmly in the past and hope not to repeat. Fantasies and expectations about the sort of baby we might have, the sort of parent we might be, and the pregnancy and birth experience may not be met. Unmet expectations can leave us feeling disappointed, angry or incompetent, and can affect our mood and our parenting.
Our psychologists are respectful of different cultures, lifestyles and parenting practices. We respect others beliefs, values and practices. We are inclusive by supporting diversity and the rights of all Australians to access culturally sensitive mental health services.
At the Centre for Perinatal Psychology we can help you manage the complex adaptations and demands of parenting. We help to strengthen your relationship with yourself, your baby and your partner. We know it can be hard to reach out for help. But we also hear time after time from those who have sought help that they wish they had done it sooner.
Contact us Today
You don’t need to struggle on without help. Find a psychologist near you that can help you with parenting issues. You can search by Location.
Call us on 1300 852 660 or contact us to make an appointment or enquiry.
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