Raising a newborn in the dark
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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New York City blackout of 1977
15 min read
The article directly references this event as an example of how darkness can trigger panic and social breakdown. The Wikipedia article provides the full historical context of this 25-hour blackout, the looting that followed, and its lasting impact on New York—offering a comparative lens for understanding civilian responses to power loss.
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Circadian rhythm
14 min read
The article discusses how babies can 'confuse day with night' and how the mother must signal daytime through artificial means during blackouts. It also mentions how 'our brain works like a natural light meter' and bodies are 'designed to live in nature's rhythm.' This scientific concept explains the biological mechanisms behind these challenges.
Editor’s Note:
This is Myroslava’s first article after returning from maternity leave on Monday.
She holds her small son in her arms as she writes, so you can read about the events in Ukraine. Over much of the last year she’s been on paid maternity leave, and we continue to support her as she transitions back to work.
Want to support our philosophy around work? Upgrade for full access to our stories or or use our tip jar below.
I want to sleep. I’m exhausted, hungry, and cold.
For the first half of the night, my little 4-month-old son kept waking me up, and for the second half – the Russians, who attacked Ukraine again, did the same.
For the next four hours, our building will have electricity, the energy workers reassure me. I’ll have enough time to go outside so my little Ustym can sleep at least a bit.
I put him in the stroller, and opened the door to go out into the stairwell.
In front of me is a thick wall of blackness.
The lights went out off-schedule.
I’m in despair. Ustym starts crying. And I came very close to getting trapped in the elevator.
Ukrainian mothers learn to heat baby formula without electricity, to wash an infant when there’s no water, and to calm them in the darkness amid the sound of sirens.
Behind the dry reports about strikes on the energy system stand real families who manage to maintain a normal routine every day. For the third autumn in a row, Russians are trying to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Ukraine is bracing for a winter with widespread outages, a reminder of how much strength it takes to stay tender when there’s darkness all around.
We would normally have a paywall for this story right, but Tim decided to remove it so you can all read Myroslava’s firsthand account of what it’s like to be a mother in Ukraine today. Help support our journalism by upgrading your subscription or hitting our tip jar.
The last massive Russian missile attack took place on October 30. As a result, rolling blackouts were introduced across almost all of Ukraine — and they’re still in effect.
I’m used to preparing for hard winters, but 2023 – the first winter after the start of the full-scale invasion – was the
...This excerpt is provided for preview purposes. Full article content is available on the original publication.