25 | Exploring WTF is up with friendship in postpartum – with Gemma Smith

25 | Exploring WTF is up with friendship in postpartum – with Gemma Smith

RELEASED MAY 11, 2022

 In our third snapshot episode, Gemma chats the good, the bad and the ugly of navigating friendships in the postpartum period. You’ll hear about: 

• Common elements of friendship
• Why your perception of friendship matters
• Turning points in friendships
• When/ how to call it quits on a friendship and
• What you can do for better friendships in postpartum.

Gemma also shares a personal story of a friendship breakup she had with a friend of six years in 2021, whilst on maternity leave during her second postpartum.

Please read my full disclaimer before listening. 

Resources:

Book your 1:1 session with me here: https://www.halaxy.com/profile/together-pregnancy-and-postpartum/location/703391

Find out more about how my sessions work here: https://postpartumlikeaboss.com.au/perinatal-counselling/ 

Esther Perel:

– Letters from Esther #27 Friendship: https://www.estherperel.com/blog/letters-from-esther-27-friendship

– Podcast – Where should we begin? “Friendship, my reliable gift” https://www.estherperel.com/podcasts/wswb-s5-episode1

– Letters from Esther #1 – Connection https://www.estherperel.com/blog/july-2019-letters-from-esther-connection 

Journal articles: 

Anne M. Cronin (2015) “Domestic friends’: women’s friendships,
motherhood and inclusive intimacy” The Sociological Review, Vol. 63, 662–679 DOI: 10.1111/1467-954X.12255 

Eileen F. Doherty (2021) “It’s just like a break-up”: A qualitative analysis of
turning points in female friendships in early to middle adulthood, Communication Quarterly, 69:1,
43-66, DOI: 10.1080/01463373.2021.1877163