Promise yourself that you will look at this list again in the month after your baby is born. This way your can remind yourself of the personal interests you want to integrate with motherhood. Becoming a mother does not need to rob you of your selfhood. Stay away from martyrdom. Whether a baby is greeted with love, joy, fear, or trepidation depends both on circumstances immediately surrounding the birth and on much that has come before.
Social scientists say the American family is in a state of crisis.
Changing cultural roles for women and the challenges of blended and single-parent families add to the adjustments already needed when new life is brought forth. Financial and caretaking responsibilities are now shared more equally between the sexes. This change has given women new freedom, but it has also produced conflicts for those pulled between the demands of family and career. None of these situations may affect you personally, but changes in society at large influence the way you experience motherhood. When the very definition of family is fluid, it is natural that women feel insecure.