The Birth of a Mother
How the Motherhood Experience Changes You for Ever
Basic Books (Publisher)
Published on 6. March 1998
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-465-01621-1 (ISBN)
Description
Stern contends that the motherhood experience is simultaneously universal and intensely personal, and it affects the emotional, psychological realm of experience as well as the physical being of the mother. He chronicles the subjective aspects of motherhoodthe thoughts, feelings, and fearsto produce a generalized picture of the motherhood experience. As you prepare to become a mother, you face an experience unlike any other in your life. Having a baby will redirect your preferences and pleasures and, most likely, will realign some of your values. As you undergo this unique psychological transformation, you will be guided by new hopes, fears, and priorities. In a most startling way, having a child will influence all of your closest relationships and redefine your role in your familys history. The charting of this remarkable, new realm is the subject of this compelling book. Renowned psychiatrist Daniel N. Stern has joined forces with pediatrician and child psychiatrist Nadia Bruschweiler-Stern and journalist Alison Freeland to paint a wonderfully evocative picture of the psychology of motherhood.
At the heart of The Birth of a Mother is an arresting premise: Just as a baby develops physically in utero and after birth, so a mother is born psychologically in the many months that precede and follow the birth of her baby. The recognition of this inner transformation emerges from hundreds of interviews with new mothers and decades of clinical experience. Filled with revealing case studies and personal comments from women who have shared this experience, this book will serve as an invaluable sourcebook for new mothers, validating the often confusing emotions that accompany the development of this new identity. In addition to providing insight into the unique state of motherhood, the authors touch on related topics such as going back to work, fatherhood, adoption, and premature birth. During pregnancy, mothers-to-be talk about morning sickness and their changing bodies, and new mothers talk about their exhaustion, the benefits of nursing or bottle-feeding, and the dilemma of whether or when they should return to work. And yet, they can be strangely mute about the dramatic and often overwhelming changes going on in their inner lives.
Finally, with The Birth of a Mother , these powerful feelings are eloquently put into words.
At the heart of The Birth of a Mother is an arresting premise: Just as a baby develops physically in utero and after birth, so a mother is born psychologically in the many months that precede and follow the birth of her baby. The recognition of this inner transformation emerges from hundreds of interviews with new mothers and decades of clinical experience. Filled with revealing case studies and personal comments from women who have shared this experience, this book will serve as an invaluable sourcebook for new mothers, validating the often confusing emotions that accompany the development of this new identity. In addition to providing insight into the unique state of motherhood, the authors touch on related topics such as going back to work, fatherhood, adoption, and premature birth. During pregnancy, mothers-to-be talk about morning sickness and their changing bodies, and new mothers talk about their exhaustion, the benefits of nursing or bottle-feeding, and the dilemma of whether or when they should return to work. And yet, they can be strangely mute about the dramatic and often overwhelming changes going on in their inner lives.
Finally, with The Birth of a Mother , these powerful feelings are eloquently put into words.
More details
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Edition type
New edition
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 140 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-465-01621-1 (9780465016211)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Daniel N. Stern | Nadia Bruschweiler-Stern
The Birth Of A Mother
How The Motherhood Experience Changes You Forever
E-Book
12/1998
Basic Books
€9.49
Available for download
Content
Introduction: The Motherhood Mindset; Preparing To Be A Mother; Pregnancy: Preparation for Your New Identity; Giving Birth: A Time of Transition; Self-fulfilling Prophecies and New Roles; A Mother Is Born; Ensuring Your Babys Survival; Loving: The Intimate Responsibility; Seeking Affirmation; One Mother Speaks; The Diary of Joey and His Mother; A Mother Adapts; Special Needs: Premature or Handicapped Babies; Your Career When?; Husbands and Fathers.