‘No one teaches you how to love a child you didn’t plan to have’: A raw Instagram post about motherhood goes viral
A 23-year-old Puerto Rico-based doula and mother has gone viral with her Instagram post revealing the struggles of motherhood.
A 23-year-old Puerto Rico-based doula and mother has gone viral with her Instagram post revealing the struggles of motherhood.
Olivyah Bowens, mom of a 9-month old and a 2-year-old, shared a pic of her and her crying toddler with a lengthy caption that has resonated with online viewers.
“No one teaches you how to love a child you didn’t plan to have. No one shows you how to traverse the emotional complexity of loving a child you weren’t happy about being pregnant with. It’s even more difficult at those times when they’re having tantrums and pushing you to a point of emotional exhaustion,” she writes.
Bowens goes on to talk about how she’s grown as a person because of her experiences in motherhood and she encourages her fellow moms.
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“Dear mama, who is going through an unplanned pregnancy, don’t feel guilty, don’t feel afraid, don’t feel ashamed. That baby chose YOU to be its mothers at the perfect time,” she proclaims. “Surrender to the journey of unpredictability and let this new being show you a whole new part of yourself you didn’t know was there.”
Bowens was entering her senior year at Butler University as a dance major when she realized she was pregnant with her first child. In an interview with Yahoo Lifestyle, she talked about how difficult it was for her to adjust her life to this major change. “I wasn’t enjoying motherhood — I’d see photos of happy moms on social media and wonder, ‘Why isn’t this me?’ So I dug deep and realized that I was mourning my former life and feeling isolated,” she said.
When Bowens was pregnant with her second daughter, she switched career lanes and became a doula to help other women through the birthing process.
“Some people have said, ‘You shouldn’t have become a mom if you didn’t want kids, but of course, I love my children,” Bowens told Yahoo. “So many women are mentally and physically exhausted and feel alone. Yet society isn’t always supportive.”
And of course, Bowens does not only share the rough parts of motherhood. Her Instagram account, which has more than 16k followers, is full of pictures of her enjoying life with her babies in tow.
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