Mothers Are Underrated
Margaret Marschal
Inglis Canada
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 21 No. 1, January-February 2004, pp. 12
The birth of my two-and-a-half-year-old
daughter, Abigail, brought many changes to my life, including a new
appreciation of my mother. I've always admired my mother, but was not
aware of how much until my own baby arrived.
In fact, I didn't always
give my mother the credit she deserves. As an adolescent, I decided
that mothers were horribly embarrassing creatures, and vowed never to
become one. When I was turning 12, my mother set about organizing a
birthday party for me.
"What does Margaret
need?" asked one of my friends' mother's innocently.
"A training brassiere,"
was my mother's honest reply. The humiliation I felt at that moment
didn't subside until all the presents were opened, and relief washed
over me, as I realized not one of the gifts was a bra.
Eleven years later, my mother
and I found ourselves in another "bra moment," only this time
I was several months pregnant, and in need of some advice on nursing
bras. Naturally, I turned to my mother who, as a devoted La Leche League
member and Leader, had enthusiastically nursed all five of her children.
Even though we lived 500
miles from one another, my mother still managed to help me find a comfortable
bra, as well as a nursing pillow, and several books on breastfeeding.
There was no LLL Group in my rural community, but she bought me a membership
to LLL and a subscription to New Beginnings. And so, when baby Abigail
arrived, I was confident we would enjoy a long nursing relationship.
Getting started took a bit
of work, as Abigail had a touch of jaundice and was more interested
in sleeping than eating. However, after rousing her every three hours
and experimenting with several positions, we eventually developed a
comfortable routine. A visit from the public health nurse confirmed
that Abigail was gaining weight, and I thought we were set.
Then, during a stay at my
mother's, when Abigail was two weeks old, my breasts suddenly felt as
though they were on fire. I had mastitis, but it couldn't have surfaced
at a better time. My mother was constantly at my side to offer words
of encouragement and care for Abigail while I rested between each painful
nursing session. The infection cleared up within days, and nursing Abigail
was once again a pleasant experience.
My daughter continued to
nurse until she was two. Every day my husband and I marvel at our healthy
and bright child, and. I know this is due in part to the fact that she
was a breastfed baby. Both Abigail and I have benefited from the example
set by my mother. And I have come to realize that most mothers are underrated.
Especially mine.
Last updated Tuesday, October 24, 2006 by njb.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:30:08 UTC 2007.
