The difference between having your first child and your second

Having your first child is a huge change, but what about the difference between parenting one and parenting two or three?

A recent survey from Momstown.ca, a support community for moms, noted a lack of support for families having their second and third child. The survey noted that the experience can bring on “new and unique challenges” for moms, in tasks as simple as getting out of the house. Their research also revealed that “many women who did not experience post partum depression with their first child did so with their second, which they attributed to a lack of support and social isolation.”

So call that friend who’s expecting her second or third baby, throw her a baby shower or simply be there for her as a shoulder to lean on. It could make all the difference.

Originally published in ParentsCanada, May/June 2012