I’m finding myself surrounded by babies, both professionally and personally – I mean both friends and clients are having babies (not that I know a lot of professional babies). As I’m starting a big project in perinatal and postpartum mental health, I am reminded so much of how lost I felt when I had my first child, and how little reliable and evidence-based guidance is out there for new moms, which creates so much anxiety above and beyond the major life transition that is also happening!
Becoming a mom – whether for the first time, the sixth time (I would guess), the first adoptive time, the first time after miscarriage or loss, under traumatic circumstances or even under totally “normal”* circumstances – is a really big deal. No one feels really prepared for it because it affects every single aspect of your life – your mood, your identity, your relationships, your roles and responsibilities, your self-esteem and your body esteem, even your time, schedule, and ability to focus.
Now, thanks to social media, we are seeing a lot more moms speaking out about how hard this transition is. We’re seeing the struggle is real, is “normal”* and is one that a lot of us are experiencing all the time. What is not out there (yet) is a bank of really good resources for supporting your own mental health (or your partner’s) after having a baby. Because even if you have all the protective factors in the world and are really looking forward to the change that becoming a parent brings, your mental health needs some attention in the perinatal (around the time of birth) and postpartum (first year after birth) periods.
What IS out there now is a number of counselors, therapists, and mental health professionals trained to work with moms during pregnancy to parenting. Here is a really good resource for anyone in the country to find therapists trained by Postpartum Support International: https://www.postpartum.net/get-help/locations/united-states/.
I see all kinds of opportunities out there to support maternal mental health and perinatal mental health (which includes partners of those who give birth!), and am excited to share some of the things I’m working on in this arena over the next several months!
*There is no “normal.” Normal is a myth that dominant society creates to oppress and silence others by shaming them into thinking that they are abnormal. More on this at a later date. Just know, there is no normal and you are amazing just the way you are!
PMADs are Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders - which can affect mothers and their partners!
Image - Postpartum Support International