Has Pregnancy Or Postpartum Taken A Toll On Your Mental Health?
Are you a new mom dealing with postpartum depression or anxiety? Do you find yourself feeling guilty because you miss your old life? Are you struggling to bond with your baby and adjust to all the changes in your body?
Whether you’re pregnant or you’ve just given birth, you might be suffering from crying spells and mood shifts without knowing why. Perhaps you had a traumatic birth and it’s causing nightmares, racing thoughts, panic attacks, and other PTSD symptoms. What’s more, all the wear and tear on your body has probably taken a toll on your mental health. Deep down, you might ask yourself: Was all of this really worth it?
You Might Feel Unable To Connect With Your Baby
It’s normal to feel disconnected from your newborn. Maybe motherhood just doesn’t seem to come “naturally” to you. As excited as you may have been to have a baby, you might feel very little motivation to feed them, hold them, and care for them.
Over time, this lack of connection could lead to feelings of guilt and shame. You might think there’s something wrong with you or worry that you’re not a good mom.
If this is how you feel, we encourage you to pursue postpartum therapy with us. Here at Elevate Counseling services, we offer support for anyone navigating pregnancy, postpartum depression, and any perinatal mental health issues.
Many New Moms Struggle To Enjoy Life With A Newborn
About one in seven mothers suffers from serious depression or anxiety during pregnancy or postpartum. Put simply, life with a newborn is not easy. After giving birth, the body struggles to re-regulate. New mental health issues often arise. To make matters worse, many new moms have no way of knowing if their symptoms are “normal” or not. They often experience lack of connection to their baby and worry that there’s something wrong with them.
To make matters worse, there are so many unhealthy cultural expectations that new moms face. Most workplaces have short maternity leave and expect women to return to work before they’ve fully recovered. Additionally, social media is filled with mommy bloggers and influencers with very strong opinions about infant care. As a result, many new moms feel intense pressure to “keep up” with other moms and be the perfect parent.
Postpartum therapy is a chance to step away from the expectations of “mom culture” and just be yourself. At Elevate Counseling, we want you to understand that what’s right for other parents might not be right for you. It’s okay to create your own unique path.
Therapy Can Help You Navigate The Ups And Downs Of The Postpartum Experience
Let’s face it: you’re probably overwhelmed with caretaking. Finding time to care for yourself isn’t easy. Counseling can help you set aside time each week to press pause, decompress, and talk about all the challenges of pregnancy or postpartum.
Working with a therapist who specializes in maternal mental health gives you access to vital resources and education about perinatal issues. It can help you normalize your experience so that you realize you’re not alone and your symptoms are nothing out of the ordinary. You can better understand the physical, emotional, and social aspects of the postpartum experience.
What To Expect In Sessions
In the first session, we’ll focus on getting to know you and provide you with new resources for support. You’ll be given a 24/7 hotline to call if you need to talk to someone during non-business hours. We also offer screenings for perinatal depression and anxiety.
The long-term goal of postpartum therapy is to help you resolve your symptoms and give you strategies to manage the continued stress of caring for your infant. We’ll explore barriers to connection with your baby and work on processing the intrusive thoughts so common to new motherhood (such as “what if my baby rolls off the bed?” or “What if I drop the baby?”).
Additionally, collaboration with outside providers is very important to us. We want to discuss your support network and look for ways to bring additional care into your life.
Tailoring Your Postpartum Therapy Plan
Our practice uses a wide range of approaches to help new moms, including mindfulness, Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Mindfulness can give you new grounding skills for staying calm, regulated, and focused on bonding with your baby. IPT provides encouragement related to your own ability to heal and manage your symptoms. CBT, on the other hand, is all about challenging and reframing the negative thoughts (such as “I’m not a good mom”) that make motherhood difficult.
No matter what approach you choose, we want to help you navigate this exciting but stressful chapter of your life. With our support, we are confident that you can overcome intrusive thoughts, broaden your support system, and strengthen your bond with your baby.
You May Have Some Questions And Concerns About Perinatal Therapy…
How will I have time for therapy when I have an infant to care for?
We offer telehealth sessions so that you can talk to a postpartum counselor from the comfort of your own home (although you can still do in-person sessions if you prefer). What’s more, you are welcome to have your baby with you during therapy!
Will my baby be taken away if I discuss everything I think about?
No, definitely not! It is extremely common for new moms to experience intrusive thoughts about something happening to the baby. There is no shame in reporting these thoughts, even when they seem irrational (such as “what if my baby falls out of the window?”). Talking about your fears with a trained professional can help you feel less alone in battling them.
Why am I not enjoying this new life? Shouldn’t I be happy?
Everyone talks about how exciting having a newborn is, but birthing a baby is traumatic. It causes incredible amounts of upheaval in your hormones and brain chemistry. Coupled with all the sleep disturbances and identity shifts that come with new motherhood, it is normal to feel untethered and ungrounded at this time. A therapist can help you normalize the postpartum experience and understand that you’re not alone.
You Deserve Room For Self-Care In Your Life
Life with a newborn is incredibly stressful. We know you have a lot on your plate and that’s we want to give you space to relax and focus on yourself. To connect with us, you can use the contact form or call 508-297-1491.