Understand More

Are you feeling sad or depressed?

Are you having difficulty bonding with your baby?

Do you feel as if you are “out of control” or “going crazy”?

Do you feel like you never should have become a parent?

Are you worried that you might hurt your baby or yourself?

If you are experiencing any of these situations, during pregnancy or postpartum, you are not alone. Many parents experience a range of emotions that they did not expect to feel.

At Mothers Care, support and strategies are designed to improve mood, to reduce stress and to help you to have the parenting experience you envision.

While many women experience some mild mood changes during or after the birth of a child, 15 to 20% will experience more significant symptoms of depression, anxiety or a mood disorder. Women, men, trans, non-binary and the non-birthing parents can experience a mental health disorder during pregnancy and postpartum. Thoughts and worries can be overwhelming, alarming and interrupt daily functioning.

Please know that with informed care you can prevent a worsening of these symptoms and can fully recover. There is no reason to continue to suffer.

Parents of every culture, age, income level and race can develop perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Symptoms can appear any time during the pregnancy and the first 12 months after childbirth. There are effective and well-researched treatment options to help you recover. Although the term “postpartum” is most often used, there are actually several forms of mood and anxiety disorders and challenges that people may experience.

Source: Postpartum Support International (PSI)

  • Nesting is the instinct to get your home ready for your baby’s arrival. This powerful and productive urge can be applied to your emotional life. “Emotional Nesting” is the process of emotionally preparing for your baby’s arrival, including addressing aspects of like that could negatively affect your pregnancy, birthing and the new parent experience. A past trauma, a current stressor, or new feelings can negatively affect the pregnancy experience. Many women find this type of preparation empowering and preventative.

    New parents who are supported in the Fourth Trimester, the first 14 weeks postpartum, have an easier time adjusting to the changes and challenges. Focus on the Fourth is information on how family and friends can support parents of a new baby.

  • After your baby is born, sometimes it can feel like you just experienced an earthquake…everything has shifted…couple and family functioning, workload, biology, self-image and everyday schedules are all different. Sometimes the birth experience and life afterwards are radically different than expected. Addressing the aspects that “feel out of place” can help to adjust to all the changes that have occurred.

    New parents who are supported in the Fourth Trimester, the first 14 weeks postpartum, have an easier time adjusting to the changes and challenges. Focus on the Fourth is information on how family and friends can support parents of a new baby.

  • Sleep is a barometer of health during pregnancy and postpartum. If you are exhausted and you have the opportunity to sleep and you cannot, this is a RED flag. An example of this is that everyone in the home, including the baby, is sleeping, you’re exhausted, and you cannot sleep. If you are experiencing this, it is recommended that you seek out an assessment immediately. Here are some suggestions for sleep postpartum.

  • Anxiety can increase during pregnancy and postpartum. Symptoms differ for each person and range from mild to severe:

    • Agitated, aggravated and/or angry

    • Trouble concentrating and remembering things: misdiagnosed as “nursing brain, baby brain”

    • Constant worry and racing thoughts

    • Feelings of extreme unease, like something bad is about to happen

    • Loss of appetite and trouble sleeping

    • Suicidal thoughts

    • Panic attacks: overwhelm, heart racing, shakiness and trouble breathing

    • A fear or resistance to leave home for fear of a panic attack

  • Strongly associated with anxiety, some women experience intrusive and repetitive thoughts, otherwise known as obsessions. Compulsions are the actions a parent may take to try to manage or reduce their fears or obsessive thoughts. 70% of women with postpartum OCD have had some history or previous symptoms of OCD.

    Symptoms differ for each person and range from mild to severe:

    • Intrusive and repetitive thoughts are focused on the baby, are distressing and unusual for the parent to experience.

    • The parent is horrified, ashamed and knows the thoughts or actions are strange- does not want to act on the thoughts.

    • Maybe scared to tell someone for fear of judgement and/or fear that authorities could become involved.

    • Avoidance behavior: Can include fear of being left alone with the baby or avoiding a situation that is feared in the intrusive thought.

    • Hypervigilance: A heighten need to protect the baby

    • Compulsions can include the constant need to clean, count or organize.

    • An unrelenting perfectionism and negative self-judgement

  • Postpartum depression is the most common mental health disorder experienced during pregnancy and postpartum. It is estimated that 20% of women experience a depression during this crucial and vulnerable time.

    Symptoms differ for each person and range from mild to severe:

    • Sleeping disturbances: wanting to sleep a lot or cannot sleep even though exhausted and has the opportunity to sleep

    • Thoughts of harming self or baby. Thoughts such as “everyone would be better off without me”

    • Lack of feeling towards baby: “feeling flat” or “not like themselves”

    • No appetite, weight loss or weight gain not associated with pregnancy

    • Feeling of overwhelmed, irritation, anger and rage.

    • Feelings of sadness, worthlessness, regret and guilt

  • Becoming pregnant after being diagnosed and treated for bipolar disorder can have many considerations. At Mothers Care we work with women to create a comprehensive plan to address both physical and psychological needs during pregnancy and postpartum.

    The following is sourced from Postpartum Support International:

    There are two phases of a bipolar mood disorder: the lows and the highs. The low time is clinically called depression and the high is called mania or hypomania. Many women are diagnosed for the first time with bipolar depression or mania during pregnancy or postpartum. In Bipolar II, the manic episode is less apparent; the highs and lows are not as extreme, and sometimes it is more apparent to friends and families than to the individual going through the phases.

    The criteria for a diagnosis of a bipolar mood disorder is that the symptoms last longer than four days and interfere with functioning and relationships. Sometimes the ups and downs seem to happen at almost the same time; this confusing state is called a mixed episode. These cycles and emotional states are more than the moodiness of pregnancy or postpartum. For many women, pregnancy or postpartum might be the first time she realizes that she has bipolar mood cycles.

    Sometimes, a person with severe episodes of mania or depression has psychotic symptoms too, such as hallucinations or delusions. These symptoms present a high risk and must be treated immediately.

  • Understandably a woman, parent and partner can experience so many emotions after such a loss. The shock, sadness, and grief can be accompanied by self-doubt and sometimes self-blame. Women and couples often feel alone and isolated while experiencing hormonal changes and the reminders of the pregnancy and the baby. Looking forward to future pregnancy can be fraught with a mixture of courage, hope, grief, and trepidation.

  • Labor and delivery are intense experiences both physically and emotionally. Sometimes the aspects of an individual’s labor and delivery can overwhelm a person’s ability to process the events. The impact interrupts a person’s ability to function as they did prior to labor and delivery. Many factors can cause and contribute to birth trauma and PTSD.

    Examples of Birth Trauma and Postpartum PTSD can be, but are not limited to:

    • A difficult labor with along painful delivery

    • Unplanned or emergency c-section

    • Emergency situation

    • Shocking or unplanned events during labor and delivery

    Signs of Postpartum PTSD are:

    • Reliving aspects of the trauma

    • Hypervigilance, panic or feeling “on edge”

    • Avoiding feelings or memories – wanting to numb oneself or feeling shut down

    • Feelings of helplessness and out of control

  • Although rare, psychosis has been associated with a with prior diagnosis or a family history of bipolar disorder. Postpartum psychosis is temporary and treatable. It is an emergency. If you are concerned for yourself or loved one, please contact an emergency hotline immediately.

    • The earliest signs can be restlessness, irritability, and insomnia-resembles a manic mood

    • Rapidly shifting depressed or elated mood, disorientation or confusion, and erratic or disorganized behavior

    • Hallucinations: Hearing, seeing, smelling and feeling things that are not there

    • Delusions/ Illogical thoughts: thoughts or beliefs that are unlikely true

    • Loss of inhibition

    • Feeling suspicious or fearful

    • Overwhelming guilt that they have done something wrong or must atone

    • Suicidal or homicidal thoughts

    Typically, symptoms appear suddenly within 3-5 days of delivery but can appear within weeks after birth.