ABSTRACT
A child raised in a loving and caring environment, where he knows he is loved and safe, will face the world with confidence and feel able to deal with life’s challenges. However, it is not always an easy task to provide an environment for the child to thrive, physically and emotionally. It is a testing time, and a woman may attribute her lack of confidence and expertise to her own personal weaknesses or faults, to way she was parented herself or to her partner’s inadequacies. She may judge herself against other mothers she meets, and find herself lacking. Stepping Stones was aimed at women who had been diagnosed with postnatal depression or who were thought to be struggling with life in some way after the birth. However, it very soon became clear that, as all women go through a period of transition and change following childbirth, it would be much more inclusive to offer the group to all new mothers.
