BeHappyMum regularly asks the opinions of new mums. In response to our most recent online survey, 44 mums told us how they felt about becoming a mother. Their answers show clearly that they’re adjusting to the changes and stresses of motherhood, and finding it a positive and life-affirming experience.
Becoming a mum – a life-changing experience
BeHappyMum asked new mums how their lives had changed since becoming a mother. And, not surprisingly, it’s been a life-changing experience for our mums. The vast majority – 88% – agreed that their lives were more complete, while just 3% felt their lives had not changed at all. Half our mums (51%) felt they had become a better person as a result of motherhood.
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Mums are more responsible, more organised
Motherhood has clearly had a big impact on the priorities of our mums. Most of them (72%) felt they had become more responsible since becoming a mother, and around 67% were more aware of how they behaved and what they said. First-time mums experienced these feelings more strongly, with 76% saying they were more responsible and 75% being more aware of their behaviour.
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Our mums also seemed to be making adjustments to deal with the extra demands of motherhood, with around 63% saying that they were more organised (and 64% disagreeing that they were more disorganised now).
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Mums relate better to their own parents
We were fascinated to see that becoming a mother has given our mums greater insight into their parents’ experiences, with more than 7 in 10 (74%) – and 82% of first time mums – saying that they’re now more understanding of their own parents.
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Mums worry, they’re more stressed
Understandably, our mums feel the pressure of the responsibilities that come with this motherhood. Around 7 in 10 (73%) – and 86% of first time mums – felt more worried about the future, and 6 in 10 (63%) were more stressed
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First-time mums are most isolated
With regard to their wellbeing, 14% of our mums – all of them first-time mothers – said they felt isolated since becoming mothers, with 70% disagreeing that they felt this way. Around 44% of mums felt their lives didn’t belong to them anymore.
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First-time mums are more health conscious
We were really interested to see how motherhood had affected our mums’ attitude to health. About half (56%) agreed that they were now more health conscious. But only 36% of our mums with more than one child said they were more health conscious now, suggesting that the pressures of motherhood tend to push health awareness to one side.
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Conclusions
Our 44 mums clearly feel that becoming a mum is a life-changing experience that has made them rethink their lives and priorities. Alongside their strong feelings of responsibility come worries about the future; their lives are more stressful but they are becoming more organised. And they are seeing parenthood in a new light, finding that they now understand their own parents better. Being a first-time mother heightens many of these feelings, as our mums experience the ups and downs of parenthood for the first time.
Want to answer this survey too? We’re keeping it open, so go to