Therapy for pregnancy and postpartum mental health in NYC

Our team of therapists with doctoral-level training bring a wealth of knowledge about perinatal mood and expertise in helping you or your partner navigate your pregnancy or postpartum journey. While you may be excited and thankful about having a baby, it’s also okay if you’re struggling too. Whatever your family planning journey has been, it’s common for expecting parents to feel anxious. And as many as 1 in 7 women and 1 in 10 men experience postpartum depression.

Whether you are the birthing parent or partner - you are deserving of dedicated support to process the unique feelings that come in this season. There may be many “nobody ever told me” moments along the way, but you can face them with caring, knowledgeable support. Being empowered with practical coping skills from a perinatal therapist gives you a solid foundation as you navigate parenthood. To learn more, book a free, 15-minute consultation with us today.

 

Pregnancy & postpartum mental health concerns

  • Pregnancy anxiety, especially in a higher risk pregnancy or following infertility

  • Postpartum mood fluctuations (anxiety or depression)

  • Healing after birth

  • Adjusting to a “new normal”

  • Guilt about negative thoughts or feelings towards your baby

  • Relationship tension with partner, family, or in-laws

  • Feelings about your changing body and sex

  • Unresolved feelings about your own parents or childhood experiences

  • Ambivalence about new role as a parent and sense of self

  • Unprocessed pregnancy or birth trauma (e.g., high risk pregnancy, birth complications, NICU care)

  • Self-criticism and decision paralysis about parenting

  • Returning to work and feeling guilty/not enough as a working parent

 

Real talk about pregnancy anxiety & postpartum depression

Trying to get pregnant and getting pregnant can be the biggest life-changing and exciting adventures you take on. Yet strong social pressures and idealized myths are also tied to this time period. Especially when it comes to what it means to have a smooth family planning journey, doing all the “right” things during pregnancy, or becoming a confident and capable parent.

This often leaves little room for real talk about the stress or honest feelings that come up with pregnancy. Feeling worried about the health of your baby, navigating all the doctor’s appointments, and managing all the planning for what’s next can bring up a lot of anxiety. If you’ve struggled with anxiety before, it can feel like your mind has a whole new set of worries to latch onto. Maybe you’re struggling with low mood during pregnancy while it seems like other people sail through it.

Postpartum can also be a whole new reality you didn’t expect. Many parents are shocked at all of the things “no one told me” and end up feeling lost, alone, or judged. Whatever your experience is, it’s helpful to receive support so you can invest in your emotional wellbeing during an important time.

 

What does “postpartum” and “perinatal” mean?

There’s a range of what people mean when they use the word postpartum, but it commonly refers to the “fourth trimester”, or about three months after birth.

Up to 80% of women experience the “baby blues”, which can start a few days after giving birth and last up to two weeks. Baby blue symptoms include sadness, overwhelm, weepiness, or restlessness. The baby blues are associated with the significant hormone changes happening in your body after birth and are temporary, resolving on its own over time.

The “perinatal period” is defined as the time between pregnancy through the first year after birth. It extends beyond the fourth trimester and is often a time where significant difficulty managing your mood can arise, such as postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression (PPD)

Whereas symptoms of the baby blues are temporary, symptoms of postpartum depression are more persistent and disruptive. PPD symptoms are similar to ones that occur with depression, such as sadness, withdrawal, low energy, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and irritability - and can also look like a lack of interest your baby or pessimistic worries about being a good parent. Without support, postpartum depression can affect a parent’s ability to follow through with caregiving tasks or connect with their baby.

What are PMADs?

PMADs, or perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, is a newer term that encompasses postpartum depression, but also includes anxiety and other mood disorders in both pregnancy and postpartum. According to Postpartum Support International, PMADs are the top complication for pregnancy and childbirth, affecting up to 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men during the perinatal period. PMADs can occur due to the significant hormonal changes related to pregnancy, but also occur as a result of the many mental, emotional, relational, and environmental stressors during the perinatal period.

Therapy for postpartum depression and PMADs

PPD can affect as many as 1 in 7 women and 1 in 10 men. And although research shows that untreated PMADs affect the likelihood of premature births, parent-child attachment, and later learning or behavior difficulties for a child, only about 25% of those affected receive professional guidance.

So what prevents people from receiving care? A lack of knowledge, stigma, and silence can keep many people in the dark, trying to muscle through without adequate support. Sometimes new parents may assume it’s “supposed to” be this hard. The good news is that if identified and addressed, PMADs are treatable with therapy and professional help.

 

Paternal mental health and partners

The needs of fathers and partners of birthing parents are sometimes pushed to the periphery during family planning or the perinatal period, even though they are equally deserving of emotional support. They also undergo their own life-altering identity, relationship, and role changes.

You may want to focus on finding ways to connect with a partner as what worked for you before isn’t realistic now. Your therapist may also assist you in problem solving and taking practical steps that remind you of what you have control over as a non-birthing person. You may be encouraged to assertively express your needs with your OB/GYN or consider building additional supportive relationships, such as with a doula, reproductive psychiatrist, endocrinologist, or support group.

Whatever brings you to therapy, this period is a time where many feel overwhelmed, alone, and unsure about nearly everything. Whether or not you are the birthing parent, a dedicated space to support your emotional wellbeing can make all the difference.

How can therapy during pregnancy or postpartum help?

  • Have a protected space that prioritizes your needs

  • Validate the honest thoughts and feelings that occur

  • Clarify when symptoms you’re experiencing require more mental health support

  • Manage perinatal anxiety or depression with effective coping skills

  • Modify what realistic and impactful self-care is

  • Exercise self-compassion when you make mistakes

  • Address unresolved feelings about becoming a parent

  • Navigate complicated relationship dynamics with your family or in-laws

  • Cope with rapid physical (body and sex) and relationship (roles and intimacy) changes

  • Deepen self-trust and values so you can make decisions with confidence

  • Process major adjustments (and losses) to your sense of self, relationships, existing family, or work

  • Make sense of all the “firsts”, “nobody told me” realizations, or “it wasn’t like this with my other one” moments

 

Types of therapy for pregnancy and postpartum mood

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT focuses on identifying connections between your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and has been well researched as a helpful approach to PMADs. Learning to notice and reframe unhelpful thinking patterns or actions help you feel empowered during a key life transition.

Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)

IPT looks at the connection between your relationships and mood. In short, IPT aims to improve interpersonal relationships in order to positively impact mood. It specifically focuses on the presence of interpersonal disputes, life transitions, unresolved grief, and social isolation - all of which are common to experience in the midst of pregnancy and postpartum.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy focuses on teaching a wide range of practical emotional and behavioral strategies to manage and tolerate strong feelings. DBT helps people differentiate between when emotions are helpful versus harmful, and how to balance your emotional self with your rational self in decision-making.

 

Therapists specializing in pregnancy anxiety and postpartum depression in NYC

Whether you are trying to conceive, are expecting, or have just become a new mother, father, birthing person, or partner, this process comes with unique challenges that affect you on a deeply personal level. You can navigate them with complete support in therapy.

Our team of psychologists at Manhattan Therapy Collective are trained in a number of therapy approaches that support mood difficulties and role transitions, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Interpersonal Therapy. We encourage you to reach out for support - we’d love to connect and be there for you through this beautiful, wild, uncertain, exhausting, and demanding moment in your life.

Don’t buy into the myth that somehow you’re automatically “supposed to know” what to do. Or that you must be perfect, or that you’re only allowed to feel blissfully happy and excited while everything in your world changes. The truth is, as with most things - there is the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to parenthood. Feeling stress, ambivalence, and sadness about what is unexpected or different that your imagined experience is normal. We believe there are many healthy paths to having a baby and becoming a good enough parent - and we’re here to support you on your journey. Book a free consultation today.

 

FAQs about therapy for pregnancy or postpartum issues

 

  • Absolutely not! We understand that this unique period of time may mean juggling medical appointments, physical pain or discomfort, or childcare. Teletherapy is a wonderful option that we offer, giving you the flexibility you may want to meet with your therapist.