Perinatal mental health refers to the emotional and psychological well-being during pregnancy and in the first year after giving birth. This period can be filled with excitement and joy, but it can also bring stress, worry, and unexpected changes in mood. While it is often associated with the birthing parent, partners and adoptive parents can also experience stress, anxiety, depression, or adjustment difficulties during this time. Parenthood brings major changes for the whole family. Lack of sleep, new responsibilities, financial pressures, and shifting roles can affect anyone, regardless of gender identity. Recognizing that perinatal mental health affects all parents helps reduce stigma and ensures that everyone gets the support they need.
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) are easy to associate as the normal difficulty attributed to adjusting to life with a newborn, the "baby blues," and are easily overlooked. However, PMAD symptoms can start anytime during the perinatal period.
Addressing perinatal mental health issues through counseling not only improves the parent’s mental health but also enhances their ability to provide nurturing and stable caregiving, fostering a positive parenting environment for the child.
Common perinatal symptoms include:
- Constant worry
- Feeling that something bad might happen
- Feelings of anger, irritability and/or rage
- Lack of interest in the baby
- Inability to sit still
- Disturbances of sleep and appetite
- Racing thoughts and difficulty quieting your mind
- Nervousness/on edge/anxious, trouble relaxing
- Lack of focus and concentration
- Feelings of guilt, shame, hopelessness or numbness
- Possible thoughts of harming the baby or yourself
- Changes in your eating, sleeping, and hygiene that are mood dependent where you may be struggling to take care of yourself on a regular basis because you feel too down to do so
These experiences are common and not a sign of weakness. They are often the result of the many physical, hormonal, and emotional changes that happen during this time of life.
Some perinatal concerns may be:
- Distress associated with pregnancy, childbirth, feeding, and caregiving
- Distressing experiences with medical care (e.g., poor patient-provider communication, mistreatment, discrimination)
- Grief related to the loss of a desired birth experience
- Pregnancy complications and loss
- Infertility
- Family-building decisions (e.g., choosing single parenthood, LGBTQ+ family building, pursuing assisted reproduction, childfree living whether its by choice or not by choice)
With the right support, most people see significant improvement and feel more like themselves again. If one or more of the above resonates with you, I invite you to contact us today for a free consultation to see how we can help.