A lot can come up during pregnancy and after birth: more than most people expect, and more than most people talk about.
From pregnancy through the first year postpartum, almost everything shifts. Your hormones, your relationships, your identity, your sense of what you can handle. Mental health struggles during this time are some of the most common experiences new and expecting parents face. They are also some of the most overlooked.
Perinatal mental health conditions include:
Perinatal anxiety — persistent worry, physical tension, difficulty sleeping, fear about the baby or birth
Perinatal depression — low mood, numbness, disconnection, difficulty bonding, hopelessness
Perinatal OCD — intrusive thoughts about harm to the baby, hypervigilance, checking behaviors
Postpartum rage — intense, disproportionate anger that is often a sign of underlying anxiety or depression
Perinatal PTSD — following traumatic birth, pregnancy loss, or medical complications
Mood disorders during pregnancy — including bipolar presentations that are destabilized by the perinatal period
These challenges can begin during pregnancy, start immediately postpartum, or show up slowly over the first year. They do not always look like crying. They often look like hypervigilance, numbness, rage, or a deep sense that something is wrong that no one else seems to see.
Structured, targeted treatment, not open-ended processing
If intrusive thoughts are running the show making you check, avoid, or seek reassurance constantly, I use exposure therapy which is the most effective treatment for obsessions and compulsions. This approach can help you take that control back. For the anxiety, depression, or mood shifts that show up during pregnancy and after birth, treatment is shaped around what this specific season of life actually demands.
What to expect:
Getting clear on what's actually happening and what's driving it
A treatment plan with defined goals
Understanding the role of hormones, sleep deprivation, and identity change
Therapy approaches rooted in CBT and ACT adapted to your specific perinatal experience
Tools for anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and mood that you can actually use
Collaboration with your medical team when that makes sense
Sessions are via secure telehealth, which matters here: postpartum care needs to be accessible. You do not need to arrange childcare or drive to an office to get good treatment. Most clients work with me for several months to 1 year. Care is structured and time-limited whether that means a single consultation, a focused five-session package, or longer-term work we define together.
What you experienced deserves to be taken seriously.
Whether you are currently pregnant, recently postpartum, or still processing something that happened years ago, this is a space where your experience will be met with clinical rigor and genuine care. The first step is a consultation.