Postpartum sadness is more prevalent than the majority of us realize. According to research, around 80% of new parents experience it. A new mom named Gretchen is struggling to adapt to her new role, prompting her to request some time alone from her loved ones. However, her situation worsened when her in-laws showed up unannounced to visit the baby. She reached out to our editorial for guidance.

This is Gretchen’s letter:

I had my first baby 2 weeks ago. I’m overwhelmed and not in the mood to do anything, so my mom moved in to help me. I told my MIL, “Give my family some space now. You will meet the baby later.” She kept on calling every day, so I ended up saying, “I don’t care if it takes months. I’m not ready yet!” She was silent.

Yesterday, I was sleeping when my mom came to me in a panic. I woke up to my baby crying and my husband turned pale when he saw me in the living room. Horrified, I found out that 9 people from my husband’s family came over to our house, and nobody had told me anything. Turns out my husband was the one who had invited his mom, dad, siblings and even nephews and nieces.

I confronted him, saying that he didn’t have the right to tell them to come over without having consulted with me first. He said, “I think you’re overreacting. It’s not like you’ve been asked to prepare food and host them for a few days.”