Perinatal Mental Health

You may have heard of postpartum depression already. There are other ways that your mental health can be affected that most folks don’t know about…It’s not always rainbows and sunshine as we are are told it’s “supposed to be”. For about 20% of women, the transition into parenthood can lead to clinical mood changes.

There are things that  don’t go as planned such as: Pregnancy or postpartum depression, anxiety, trauma, OCD, trauma and less frequently, bipolar disorder or psychosis. These are serious, but   very treatable conditions.

Most people who are going through these conditions feel very alone and may experience guilt and overwhelm. But they are not alone.  You are not alone.  Basically, we don’t talk about the realities of pregnancy, birth and postpartum enough. So when a mom, dad or new parent is suffering, they think that there is something wrong with them. NOT TRUE. There IS something that they are dealing with, a real legitimate condition that deserves treatment. And Care. And Understanding. With the right kind of help, moms, dads and parents feel better.

So many people have been through a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder and are then inspired to help others.  I’m one of them.   And there is a huge supportive community of  parent support and psychotherapists who are trained in the specialty of perinatal mental health. We are ready to  help.