Adjusting to life as a mother can be difficult. In fact, for many women, having a baby is the most significant life-changing event they will ever experience. Adjusting to this major life change, as well as coping with the day-to-day demands of a new baby, can make some women more likely to experience depression at this time, particularly if they’ve experienced depression in the past.

When people think about becoming parents, they often imagine the delight of gazing into their child’s loving face. Many people are surprised and concerned by some of their responses to their children.

A woman who is living with a violent partner is often told that the violence is her fault. You know that if you are told something often enough you begin to believe it. A violent partner will constantly put you down in front of friends and family. You begin to lose your self-esteem and confidence in your own abilities and you start to think “if only I was a better wife, lover and mother this would not be happening”. Unfortunately, it does not matter what you do or say.

Child abuse is one of Australia’s most critical social problems. There were more than 309,517 reported cases of child abuse in Australia in 2007 – that is one report every two minutes. The number of reports has doubled in the past decade.