A lot can come up while trying to conceive, during pregnancy, and after birth: more than most people expect, and more than most people talk about.
From trying to conceive 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:
Infertility grief/anxiety — constant checking/researching, all-encompassing worries, vacillation between hope and dread
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, NICU stays, or medical complications
Mood disorders during pregnancy — including bipolar presentations that are destabilized by the perinatal period
These challenges can begin while trying to conceive, 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 the painful unpredictability of this journey can pull you into a spiral of guilt, fear, and emotional exhaustion, I use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which equips you to navigate heavy emotions without being consumed by them. This approach can help you reclaim your sense of self and reconnect with joy. For the complex grief, isolation, or relationship strains that show up from trying to conceive all the way through the postpartum year, care is grounded in supporting the reality of your current season.
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: perinatal 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.
No matter where you are on your journey, even if you’re still processing something that happened years ago, this is a space where your experience will be met with full attention and care. The first step is a consultation.