Last week Rosa called the Parental Stress Line.  She was crying, and said she was feeling stretched in too many directions, exhausted, and at her wits end.  A single mother of a 3 month old infant boy, born prematurely who cries day and night, she is worried.  Worried about his adjusting to home.  Worried about being a good mother.  Worried about her disabled sister who shares the one bedroom in their tiny apartment.  When the baby cries at night it wakes her sister.  Rosa has tried feeding him and rocking him, walking around with him in her arms.    She wants to take the baby to the other room, but it’s cold at night and the bedroom is warmer.  She feels alone, isolated and anxious.

Talking to the Parental Stress Line counselor, Rosa was able to express these feelings.  She received warm support and encouragement for all she is doing to attend to her baby’s needs as well as be considerate to her sister. She talked about the difficulty of a premature birth and caring for the baby alone.  Our counselor gave her additional strategies she can use to help calm the baby.  Rose decided that she would call her pediatrician to make sure the baby is okay physically and to get more support.  She was given referrals to local agencies for help with nutrition and was referred to a community agency that visits isolated young mothers at home.

At the end of the call Rosa was calm.  She felt supported and she had a plan to manage the situation with her crying baby.  She thanked the volunteer and said she will use the Stress Line in the future when she feels so alone.