By Dr Bronwyn Leigh When all is going well enough, a few things naturally happen towards the end of your pregnancy. One is that you become more preoccupied with yourself, your body and your baby. It is during this time that your sensitivity becomes heightened. Women tend to become more insular and begin to withdraw […]
The Healthy Mind Platter for Optimal Brain Matter. Copyright © 2011 David Rock and Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. All rights reserved. Used with permission. By Dr Yoko Hayashi There is no doubt that becoming a parent makes it challenging to look after your own physical and emotional wellbeing. It is difficult to find time for yourself […]
By Dr Bronwyn Leigh “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, philosopher and writer Slowing yourself down internally (your mind and physiology) and externally (your pace and behaviour) can help you observe and ‘be with’ your baby. Try to be aware of how you are feeling and how […]
By Dr Bronwyn Leigh “The good-enough mother is one who makes active adaptation to the infant’s needs, an active adaptation that gradually lessens, according to the infant’s growing ability to account for failure of adaptation and to tolerate the results of frustration.” – D. W. Winnicott, paediatrician and parent-infant therapist ‘Good enough’ parenting encompasses being […]
By Dr Bronwyn Leigh New and expectant Dads are increasingly getting our attention – and with good reason. Traditionally, mental health concerns have focused on new and expectant mothers, but it has become clearer in more recent years that the perinatal period is a time of psychological vulnerability for fathers too. Recent Australian research surveying […]
By Dr Bronwyn Leigh Becoming a parent doesn’t happen just because you have conceived or given birth. It takes time to truly ‘become’ a mother or father. There are many emotional tasks involved in moving towards parenthood that are required in adapting to the role of parent. One task is the ability to face up […]