Therapy for Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders
Mental health care after childbirth
Are You Struggling With Your Mental Health After Becoming a Parent?
The weeks and months after bringing a child into your life (whether through birth, adoption, or other paths to parenthood) can be incredibly difficult. Many new parents notice changes in their mood during this transition. Disrupted sleep, physical recovery, hormonal shifts, emotional overwhelm, and even traumatic experiences can take a serious toll. While it’s common to experience a brief period of increased sadness, anxiety, or irritability—often referred to as the “baby blues”—some individuals go on to develop a perinatal or postpartum mental health disorder.
These conditions can significantly impact a parent’s well-being and their ability to care for themselves and their child. You might struggle to meet daily needs, feel intense anxiety or hopelessness, have trouble sleeping or eating, experience intrusive thoughts, or even symptoms of psychosis. These experiences are not limited to those who give birth— many adoptive parents, non-birthing partners, and caregivers also face emotional and psychological challenges during the transition to parenthood.
Some common postpartum mental health conditions include:
- Postpartum depression (PPD): Involves symptoms of major depression, difficulty bonding with your child, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, withdrawal from others, and thoughts of self-harm or suicide.
- Postpartum anxiety: May include racing thoughts, physical symptoms like heart palpitations, constant worry about your child’s safety, and difficulty trusting others with your child.
- Birth trauma: A distressing or traumatic birth experience can lead to symptoms of PTSD, including nightmares, flashbacks, hypervigilance, panic, or avoidance.
- Postpartum psychosis: A rare but serious condition involving hallucinations, delusions, extreme mood swings, or disorganized thinking.
Get Matched with a Therapist for a Postpartum Psychiatric Disorder
Pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery can feel like a roller coaster of emotions. If you’ve recently given birth and are experiencing significant difficulties with your mental health, you might have a postpartum psychiatric disorder. We’re here to help and support you during this wild time. Get matched with an Ellie therapist who can help with postpartum depression and more.
The Goals of Therapy for Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders
No new mother wants to struggle with her mental health, and it can be incredibly difficult to adjust to being a new mother while struggling with a psychiatric disorder. Fortunately, therapy and psychiatric intervention can be very effective in helping you process what you’re feeling, recover, and enjoy these new precious moments with your new baby. Here’s how your Ellie therapist can help:
- Evaluate your symptoms and determine if you’re showing signs and symptoms of a postpartum psychiatric disorder
- Give you a safe place to vent, decompress, and express the challenges of being a new mother or coping with a traumatic birth
- Discuss if medication could be beneficial for addressing symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychosis, and more
- Help you build a support group and get help from others to support your healing during this time
- Explore how other factors in your life, such as a difficult relationship or pre-existing conditions, might be affecting your mental health
Let’s Work Through your Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders Together
Ellie Mental Health can help you with your mental health through every phase of your parenting journey: including pregnancy, the postpartum period, and beyond. Postpartum psychiatric disorders are very common, and we urge soon-to-be or new moms to be aware of their mental health after birth and to reach out if they’re struggling.
Perinatal Mental Health Blogs
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