Blogging Helps New Mothers
New research says that women who have recently given birth might feel less stressed if they read or write blogs.
The study was based on a relatively small study group of 157 new mothers who had given birth to their first baby recently.
Researchers found that in the study group, almost 61 percent wrote blogs and 76 percent read other blogs.
Almost ninety percent of women who wrote blogs did so to "document personal experiences or share them with others" while 86 percent wrote to stay connected to their friends and family.
Researchers found that moms who spent some time blogging were less stressed. However social networking sites like Facebook did not decrease stress levels.
Earlier this month, Medical Daily had reported that new mothers spend more time on Facebook and that this habit causes more stress in new moms.
"It looks like blogging might be helping these women as they transition into motherhood because they may begin to feel more connected to their extended family and friends, which leads them to feel more supported. That potentially is going to spill out into other aspects of their well being, including their marital relationship with their partner, the ways that they're feeling about their parenting stress, and eventually into their levels of depression," said Brandon T. McDaniel, graduate student in human development and family studies, Penn State and one of the study authors.
Many women feel depressed after pregnancy. Some might even suffer from post-partum depression that is dangerous to both mother and child. The new study suggests that talking about their feelings after giving birth might take off some of the pressure associated with being a mother.
"We're not saying that those who end up feeling more supported all of a sudden no longer have stresses, they're still going to have those stressful moments you have as a parent. But because they're feeling more supported, their thoughts and their feelings about that stress might change, and they begin to feel less stressed about those things," said McDaniel.