In my recent post, You Can be a Good Mother, I discussed how just about any woman can be a good mother if she puts her mind to it, applies herself, and is determined. However, after thinking about it, I forgot to mention two major challenges that one might deal with, that could prevent someone from being a good mother, if they are not dealt with.

If a woman has some forms of mental illness, it doesn’t necessarily mean that she will not be a good mother, however if she does not receive treatment it could make being a good mother very challenging. With treatment and support though, she can typically still successfully parent. My own mother suffers from bi-polar disorder and she was still an excellent mother in spite of that. She took medication and met with a psychiatrist and a therapist in order to treat her illness. Had she not received treatment though, it could have affected her parenting skills.

Women who struggle with some form of addiction could also be immediately labeled as the type of women who would not make a good mother, whether it be drug addiction, alcohol addiction, gambling, etc... But, with treatment and support recovering addicts can still be good mothers and successfully parent. Sure, it is going to make it more difficult, but it is still do-able.

If you are dealing with one of these challenges and are not sure of whether or not adoption or parenting would be your best option, try seeking out other mothers who have the same problem as you. See what worked for them, what didn’t work, and what advice they have to offer.

Suffering from a mental illness or having an addiction problem certainly can make being a good mother more challenging, but not impossible with support and treatment.


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