Personal Narrative: A Mother Has On Her Newborn Child

One of the mothers brought her newborn son to the group for the first time. She confessed that they spent a little extra time in the hospital due to the previous conditions and her son weaning off her medications. I found the phrasing of “my medications” interesting. Think it could almost be seen as repression, one of Freud’s defense mechanisms. She seems to be trying to separate herself from the actions. Although labeling individuals with certain titles can have negative consequences, it seems like in her case it would allow her to take ownership of her actions. I worry that the even though she has talked about wanting to get better she will regress because she avoided talking about the impact she has had on her newborn child. I do not want her new son to be like her past children and have him taken away as well. I also think the comment did not sit well with me because on my way out the mother had gone outside and was smoking cigarettes with her newborn. It is not good for any child to inhale cigarette smoke, but the dangers are amplified with an infant born addicted to a substance. I understand that all mothers want to do right by their children, but it is frustrating for me to see a mother risking the health and well being of her child. I think the frustration is amplified with something like smoking in front of your children because there are so many public …show more content…
Last week the child slept through the majority of the session. I think the small group of forced the mother to be more interactive in the group, but in the normal size group, it allowed her to hide behind others. I worry that about the fact that this mother has not “brought into the program.” I hope she is more interactive with other practitioners because the lack of engagement is a risk factor for relapse. Furthermore, the lack of engagement will negatively impact the well being and development of the