As a woman prepares to become a mother, she faces an experience unlike any other in her life. The birth of her baby will give her a new direction in her preferences and pleasures, and will likely redefine some of her values. As she undergoes this unique psychological transformation, new hopes, fears, and priorities guide her. Having a child affects all of her close relationships and changes her role in her family's history. In this sense, in the many months leading up to and following the birth of her baby, the mother is born psychologically.
Renowned psychiatrist Daniel Stern teamed up with pediatrician and child psychiatrist Nadia Brusvailer-Stern and journalist and author Alison Freeland to wonderfully capture the psychology of the new mother and to validate with understanding and acceptance the conflicting emotions that accompany the early stages of motherhood. This is an invaluable reference book for new mothers, supported by numerous research examples and their personal comments, which also examines issues such as the mother's return to work, fatherhood, premature birth, and adoption.