The mother of all dilemmas

Online series sheds light on the challenges facing women after childbirth, Xing Wen reports.

Three remarkable women have drawn inspiration from their own experiences, creating a drama series that sheds light on the life of new mothers and calls for improved postnatal care and support.

Zhang Wei, Teng Yang, and Jiang Mi have taken on the roles of scriptwriters and producers for the series For the First Time in My Life, which exposes the hidden pains endured by women as their bodies undergo significant physical, hormonal and emotional changes after childbirth.

The show also depicts how they cope with challenges such as relationship stress, intergenerational differences in caring for a newborn, and the trade-offs of juggling work and motherhood.

An associate professor with the department of literature at the Beijing Film Academy, Zhang has good relations with her former postgraduate student Teng, who gave birth to a baby in 2021.

Despite having a supportive husband and parents, Teng still suffered mood swings and even depression due to the dramatically shifting hormone levels.
Witnessing Teng's suffering, Zhang was reminded of her own pregnancy and "lying-in" period a decade ago.

"The recovery period can be painful," Zhang says.