Not that I spend a lot of my free time looking for shows depicting moms experiencing postpartum, but I’ve yet to find an accurate portrayal of what postpartum really feels like from an emotional standpoint. Usually when there’s a new mom in a show or a movie, the show creators do a decent job to capture the sense of chaos and sleep deprivation.
They’ll show a new mom unsuccessfully attempting to console a newborn, walking around her living room bewildered, holding her little babe at her shoulder. The baby is always cute, even while wailing, and is wearing adorable jammies and at that same time the mom looks…not so great.
Her appearance is one where she’s wearing an oversized t-shirt, a burp rag on her shoulder, old and new spit up stains trickle down her back, and her hair in a frizzy mess. She may or may not be wearing pants. It’s clear she’s tired, it’s clear she’s overwhelmed, she probably needs a shower.
They’ll show a new mom unsuccessfully attempting to console a newborn, walking around her living room bewildered, holding her little babe at her shoulder. The baby is always cute, even while wailing, and is wearing adorable jammies and at that same time the mom looks…not so great.
Her appearance is one where she’s wearing an oversized t-shirt, a burp rag on her shoulder, old and new spit up stains trickle down her back, and her hair in a frizzy mess. She may or may not be wearing pants. It’s clear she’s tired, it’s clear she’s overwhelmed, she probably needs a shower.
Rarely do we see the life of a newborn mom include the deep emotions and inner dialogue until Kelly Galuska, Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin, and Jennifer Flacket’s new Netflix show “Human Resources”.
“Human Resources” is an animated series on Netflix, driven by humor, raunchiness, and psychological genius where the main characters– Creatures– are personifications of the spectrum of the human condition. There is a Creature for Anxiety, Shame, Love, Logic, Addiction, Grief, Hormones, Depression, and everything in between. The idea of the show is that these Creatures are assigned to different humans throughout their experiences on Earth.
During this first season we’re introduced to the Creatures, their stories, and the inner workings of the world of “Human Resources”, as well as follow a few Humans on their journeys. We get to watch all of the emotions and actions surrounding an engagement and wedding of a Phoenix Suns obsessed man, as well as the portrayal of an elderly grandmother reliving memories of past forbidden love. But my favorite and most relevant to my life was the storyline of Becca: the newly postpartum mom trying to figure out how to be a person again after giving birth.
During this first season we’re introduced to the Creatures, their stories, and the inner workings of the world of “Human Resources”, as well as follow a few Humans on their journeys. We get to watch all of the emotions and actions surrounding an engagement and wedding of a Phoenix Suns obsessed man, as well as the portrayal of an elderly grandmother reliving memories of past forbidden love. But my favorite and most relevant to my life was the storyline of Becca: the newly postpartum mom trying to figure out how to be a person again after giving birth.
In the episodes that follow Becca’s story we meet a few different Creatures. We see the two day old baby in the crib where he’s visited by a big and abrasive Need Demon– who demands his mommy, her milk, and to be burped and comforted.
Meanwhile, Becca’s Need Demon has turned “into a wisp” begging for sleep, a morsel of food, or a sip of water. Love Bugs are supposed to help humans fall in love and when Becca isn’t bonding with her new baby, both her and her Love Bug think something is wrong with them.
Her lack of sleep and bonding brings about the Shame Wizard who asks Becca why she’s such a terrible mother and why she can’t figure out breastfeeding. Her Hormone Monster apologizes for her mood being all over the place, and Anxiety Mosquitoes buzz around Becca worrying about whether or not she’s keeping her baby safe and whether or not she’ll ever have a life that feels normal again.
Depression Kitty finally visits, trying to convince Becca that she’s all alone, out of love with her husband, and that nothing she’ll ever do will be right for herself or her baby.
As Becca begins her return to work as a litigator, the Ambition Gremlin fusses over Becca’s productivity and place in her office. Kelly Galuska, Nick Kroll, and their crew do an amazing job showing Becca figuring out being a brand new mom, figuring out how to be in a new season of her relationship with her husband, and the physical toll new motherhood takes on a woman (she cries about her “dead vagina” and her sore and cracked nipples sing a song).
Meanwhile, Becca’s Need Demon has turned “into a wisp” begging for sleep, a morsel of food, or a sip of water. Love Bugs are supposed to help humans fall in love and when Becca isn’t bonding with her new baby, both her and her Love Bug think something is wrong with them.
Her lack of sleep and bonding brings about the Shame Wizard who asks Becca why she’s such a terrible mother and why she can’t figure out breastfeeding. Her Hormone Monster apologizes for her mood being all over the place, and Anxiety Mosquitoes buzz around Becca worrying about whether or not she’s keeping her baby safe and whether or not she’ll ever have a life that feels normal again.
Depression Kitty finally visits, trying to convince Becca that she’s all alone, out of love with her husband, and that nothing she’ll ever do will be right for herself or her baby.
As Becca begins her return to work as a litigator, the Ambition Gremlin fusses over Becca’s productivity and place in her office. Kelly Galuska, Nick Kroll, and their crew do an amazing job showing Becca figuring out being a brand new mom, figuring out how to be in a new season of her relationship with her husband, and the physical toll new motherhood takes on a woman (she cries about her “dead vagina” and her sore and cracked nipples sing a song).
Becca has to figure out how to balance being a working mom, and how to put the pieces of her old self together along with the new pieces, and it’s completely relatable.
Naturally while watching this show, I was thinking about how accurate and close to home this depiction of new motherhood is– as I was a brand new mom not so long ago, but I also couldn’t help but think about how different it might be if Becca had support services (and yes I realize this is an animated show and that Becca is not real).
If she had a postpartum doula, would her own Need Demon be less wispy? If she had a lactation consultant, would the Shame Wizard have less to bother her about? If she had a maternal mental health counselor, would Becca have been able to silence the overwhelming noise from The Anxiety Mosquito, The Depression Kitty, and The Ambition Gremlin? I can’t say for sure, but I bet it would have looked and felt a little different for Becca.
If she had a postpartum doula, would her own Need Demon be less wispy? If she had a lactation consultant, would the Shame Wizard have less to bother her about? If she had a maternal mental health counselor, would Becca have been able to silence the overwhelming noise from The Anxiety Mosquito, The Depression Kitty, and The Ambition Gremlin? I can’t say for sure, but I bet it would have looked and felt a little different for Becca.
So, props to “Human Resources” for an accurate glimpse into what it feels like to be a postpartum mom. And for reiterating the point of why new moms need support. With our gift registry, BeHerVillage.com, new parents can actually register for all the support services to help keep those Creatures a little more quiet.
BeHerVillage is helping parents like you get the funds they need for the support they deserve! Are you having a baby and are looking for support? Create a registry for support today and get gifted funds directly into your bank account to pay for your support team. You deserve this.
Are you a birthworker who supports new moms? Use BeHerVillage to help your clients pay for your support. Create your free profile here and you can be the best baby shower gift a mom will ever get!
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