Perinatal and Postpartum Support
Fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and loss can feel incredibly isolating. These unique challenges only faced by women can create changes in physical, mental, social, and emotional health. Due to the demands we as women face during and after pregnancy, it is common to see an increased need for support during these times. One of the MOST effective ways to improve your experiences in pregnancy, postpartum, and after loss is to have adequate and compassionate support during your journey. Psychotherapy for Women is here to provide just that, from wherever you may be on your journey.
Benefits of My Services
Some of the many benefits having adequate support for fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum are:
- Having support in your life from someone who is none judgmental or biased
- Learning how to support your moods and understanding what is “normal” versus “concerning” thoughts, symptoms, and stressors
- Monitoring any intrusive or unwanted thoughts
- Planning for pregnancy challenges, body changes, and anxiety before becoming pregnant
- Improving areas of coping, daily healthy habits, and communication patterns before baby arrives
- Learning what you need and how to verbalize this to ensure you are getting adequate support
- Establishing self-care activities and routines that can help you cope in postpartum
- Creating a self-care plan to implement
- Exploring and identifying boundaries to protect your wishes during pregnancy/birth/postpartum
- Addressing childhood trauma, family ruptures, and life stressors before baby arrives
- Learning how to navigate life as a new mom
- Coping with changes in body, activity levels, energy, and moods post-baby
- Enhancing postpartum experiences and motherhood
Symptoms to Look Out For
If you are pregnant, trying to become pregnant, or recently post-partum, you may be wondering if it’s “normal” to feel how you’re feeling during this time. In reality, more women struggle with anxiety and depression during and after pregnancy than are reported.
Symptoms that indicate you could benefit from support during this time often look like:
- Increased nervousness, feeling anxious, and/or being unable to control thoughts of worry
- Difficulty concentrating and/or completing tasks
- Changes in sleeping habits, including lack of sleep and/or sleeping more than usual
- An increase or decrease in appetite
- A noticeable change in mood
- Negative or poor body image
- Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless
- Easily and/or more tearful (crying) than usual
- Trouble managing and coping with the transition, causing difficulty engaging in day-to-day tasks
- Fear of “something awful” happening
- Difficulty asking for help
- Lack of people in your life you feel you can talk to
- Negative thoughts/feelings about pregnancy
- Current or previous loss of child during or after pregnancy
- Feeling a lack of time to do things for yourself
- Difficulty feeling able to connect with infant
- Intrusive/unwanted/scary thoughts
- Feeling guilt in any way
Helping You Not Feel So Alone
If you are navigating challenges related to fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, or infant loss, reach out today to learn more about how I can help. This time is hard and full of unknowns, and I am here to help you navigate through it and not feel so alone.
