At any stage of parenthood, it’s okay to ask for help. And as our parents say here, there will always be someone else going through the same thing as you. Finding people to share the journey with can make all the difference.
Annie and Matt
London, UK
‘The little things that helped me during the early stages were friends and family, when someone would just pop round. And, also having a local network, finding a group of people that are going through parenting at the same stages as you so it’s a shared journey – that’s really valuable,’ Annie
‘I, maybe naively, thought the baby would just pop out and we’d all go back to normal, but the impact it can have on the mum can be quite large. It’s not just the baby, it’s supporting the mum, as well,’ Matt
Becki,
New Zealand
‘Social media has formed this incredible platform of advice and knowledge sharing. I really enjoy reading like-minded platforms that are very inspiring. It can be really heartwarming to read people's authentic experiences.’
Jacob and Yuki,
Hong Kong
‘I was very lucky that I had one and a half months of paternity leave, even though dads are only entitled to five days by law here. My wife breastfed so I tried to help take care of things like diapers, bath time and nail cuts, as well as meals and snacks for Yuki. Mental support was also very important. When I returned to work, Yuki was upset for a period because she found it very lonely during the day. More regular text and calls through the day was helpful.’
Shrimoyee and Bruno,
London, UK
‘Having my mum around was honestly the best thing ever because once you go through pregnancy and come back home, you’re exhausted and your body can’t take it. Being able to hand the baby over to mum for 10 minutes to an hour was super helpful.’
Tash, Perth
Australia
‘My pregnancy journey was a little bit different, in the traditional way of having a family. I’m a single or solo mother by choice, so I chose to have my child using an anonymous sperm donor. I’ve never wanted to hide the way my daughter was conceived and only really positive responses have come my way, with admiration and love. It’s so important to rely on the people around you, especially as a single mum.’
Bennett and Malik,
Los Angeles, US
‘The best advice I was given was to ask for help when I needed it. I would’ve had the tendency to maybe try to do too much alone or not let people know if I needed support or a break. So I gave myself the permission to do that.’
Next, hear about how parenting can impact sleep. Read our parents’ stories below.
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