// PRENATAL //
As a mom-to-be, you are encouraged to take good care of yourself; you are told to eat right, exercise, and rest. But what about your emotional health? Meeting with a therapist on a regular basis is just as important in your prenatal regime as eating right and exercising. Motherhood can be a huge identify shift, and even if there are feelings of excitement and joy, motherhood can also bring along a lot of complex feelings. You may feel torn between wanting to have a baby but not lose your independent self and identity. You may also worry about the impact motherhood will have on your marriage, finances, career, and friendships. Therapy can help you sort through these feelings of stress and provide you a safe space to express your thoughts and feelings (and anxieties) about becoming a parent.
Starting therapy during your pregnancy may help prevent more severe symptoms of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (such as postpartum depression and anxiety).
// PERINATAL AND POSTNATAL //
While many women may feel depressed after having a baby, the most common symptoms that women will feel are anxiety and being overwhelmed. Too many women don’t reach out for help because they assume that since they aren’t depressed, they must not have Postpartum Depression (PPD). Other symptoms of PPD and other Perinatal Mood Disorders include:
• feelings of helplessness and/ or hopelessness • difficulty in making decisions • changes in sleeping and/ or eating patterns • isolation and withdrawal from community and loved ones • frequent feelings of “I can’t do this” • not feeling like yourself • intrusive thoughts, images, fears of harm coming to your baby that you cannot stop and that you know are wrong • irritability, impatience, rage • difficulty concentrating • difficulty attaching and bonding to your baby • In the most serious cases, seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not really there and/ or beliefs that are not based in reality
*(You may experience all of these symptoms or only a few)