Therapy for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Compassionate Support During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) encompass a range of emotional challenges that can arise during pregnancy or within the first year after giving birth. While the phrase "postpartum depression" is commonly used, PMADs also include severe anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, panic, and post-traumatic stress.
How Common are PMADs?
If you are struggling right now, please know that you are far from alone. PMADs are the most common complication of pregnancy and childbirth, affecting approximately 1 in 5 mothers and 1 in 10 fathers.
What PMADs Can Look Like
You might recognize yourself in one or more of these descriptions:
Perinatal Depression: Feeling a heavy sadness, a sense of emptiness, or a loss of interest in things you usually enjoy. You might feel intense guilt, anger, or worry that you aren't bonding with your baby.
Perinatal Anxiety: A constant, racing motor of worry. This often presents as physical tension, a racing heart, sleep struggles (even when the baby is sleeping peacefully), or an overwhelming urge to control everything to keep the baby safe.
Perinatal OCD: Experiencing frightening, repetitive, intrusive thoughts or mental images (often about something bad happening to the baby) accompanied by repetitive behaviors (like checking the baby's breathing constantly) to quiet that anxiety.
Perinatal PTSD: Traumatic stress that can surface after a scary, unpredictable, or difficult pregnancy or birth experience.
How Therapy Can Help
Therapy is a safe, judgment-free space to support you through the many stressors that come with pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenthood. Whether you are a new mom who is looking for support for anxiety, or you are a couple who is struggling with the stress of new parenthood in your relationship, the therapists at Relate Therapy Center are here to support you through this transition.
Reach out today to schedule a consultation for individual or couple’s therapy. We can navigate this chapter together.
