It’s my first time being a mum. How do I know whether I am doing the right thing?

To quote from the Naish and Roberts book The Natural Way to Better Birth and Bonding: ‘You should give yourself permission to make your own mistakes. All parents are humans too; there is no such thing as a perfect parent.’

The nurturing skills you got from a supporting childhood relationship with your own mother will work to your advantage in dealing with your new role. However, in reality, not all childhood experiences are as fortunate, so you tend to be more overwhelmed in a stressful situation as you may not have a pre-programmed blueprint from which to emulate. But, don’t worry, you can always teach yourself some fundamentals by reading books, watching videos, attending parenthood seminars, joining coffee groups, opening up to your doctor and partaking in playcentre courses. You can choose from a lot of options and you don’t need to tackle motherhood all alone.