We prepare ourselves by attending pre-natal exercise classes, to assist at the time of delivery. We have our wonderful midwives, who prepare us for the sleepless nights, breast/artificial feeding, bathing baby etc. but the reality is quite different when we get home.

The mother instinct is however, the saving grace in most cases, but there is also the sense of joy and pride in being a ‘Mum’.That is of course if the new mother has good support systems such as a loving husband/partner.

What is disturbing, is the notion that the mother “disappears into the baby” becoming invisible, and that suicide is the leading cause of maternal death.

It is sad that some new mothers are so depressed with postnatal depression, that they either don’t know how to seek help, or are too tired and afraid to do so.

The invisibility is a concern, it almost suggests jealousy of the newborn and a desire for recognition for one's own sake.

There is definitely an expectation, that just because she is female, a new mother should automatically know what the needs of the newborn are.

The joy of motherhood for most women is the greatest achievement and generates its own reward. It is vital in the first few weeks that home visits from maternal health nurses is continued as many problems can be solved.

Mary T. Bates, Exeter.

GEOFF McLean (The Examiner, July 7) is wrong to suggest that a plebiscite is not a valid means of settling the marriage debate.

The most recent public poll on the subject – Essential Research June 17, showed 61 per cent of Australians want a people’s vote with only 27 per cent wanting politicians to decide in parliament. A people’s vote makes sense given more than 17 bills have been voted down on this subject and our current government was elected promising a plebiscite.

It is a wise decision given the monumental nature of what is being proposed, significantly redefining a social institution that has served generations and cultures across the world for millennia. Marriage is too important to be kicked around as a political football, let the people decide.

Mark Brown, Australian Christian Lobby Tasmanian director.

THE barrister who uncovered the dual citizenship of the two Green Senator’s makes one wonder which political party hired him to dig around to see if they had renounced their citizenship with their original countries of birth.

It also opens up a huge question how many of Australia’s naturalised citizens has dual citizenship or how many did renounce their original one to become a true blue Aussie?  I know I didn’t renounce mine and why should I if I’ve already pledged an oath of allegiance to my adopted country.  Isn’t an oath of allegiance to a new country on its own a form of renouncing all others?

David Parker, West Launceston.

THE photo of the proposed Low Head wind farm (The Examiner, July 16) was misleading, by the way the turbines were depicted in such faint ink that you could hardly see them - when in fact they will create quite a visual impact on the coastal skyline at Bell Buoy Beach.

Being less than 2 kilometres away from the houses, they are likely to cause nuisance noise - as well as impacting on the natural values of the beautiful coastal area by causing loss of bird life. Renewables do not have to be so close to a rural communities.

Vicky Jansen-Riley, Bell Buoy Beach.