1 IN 5 WOMEN
EXPERIENCE PERINATAL ANXIETY OR DEPRESSION
PERINATAL MOOD & ANXIETY DISORDERS
Briefly introduce yourself and share something interesting with website visitors. Double click to edit the text.
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are the most common complication of pregnancy and the postpartum period — and one of the most underrecognized. PMADs is an umbrella term that includes postpartum depression, perinatal anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and postpartum psychosis, and can develop any time during pregnancy or in the year following birth.
If you've been feeling persistently sad, anxious, disconnected, or overwhelmed, you are not alone — and what you're experiencing is not your fault. These are real, medical conditions influenced by hormonal changes, birth experiences, sleep deprivation, and life transitions, and they have nothing to do with how much you love your child.
So many women suffer in silence because they feel pressure to appear grateful and joyful during what "should" be a happy time. We want you to know there is no shame in struggling. With the right support, full recovery isn't just possible — it's the expectation. Our practice is dedicated to providing compassionate, evidence-based perinatal mental health care, because you deserve to feel like yourself again.
beyond the "baby blues"
Briefly introduce yourself and share something interesting with website visitors. Double click to edit the text.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Welcoming a new baby can bring a whirlwind of emotions — and it's not always easy to know what's "normal" and what might need a little extra support. The baby blues are incredibly common, affecting up to 80% of new mothers, and typically arrive within the first few days postpartum as a wave of tearfulness, mood swings, and emotional sensitivity. These feelings are largely driven by the dramatic hormonal shifts happening in your body, and they usually resolve on their own within two weeks.
Postpartum depression, however, is something different. It goes beyond the typical adjustment period and can develop any time in the first year after birth, bringing with it persistent sadness, hopelessness, difficulty bonding with your baby, overwhelming anxiety, or an inability to function the way you normally would. These feelings won't simply pass with time — and that's exactly where we come in. At our practice, we specialize in perinatal mental health and are here to walk alongside you through every stage of your journey into parenthood.
Whether you're unsure if what you're experiencing is the blues or something more, or you already know you need support, reaching out is a brave and important first step. You don't have to navigate this alone — and you deserve care that truly understands what you're going through.
perinatal & postpartum depression
Briefly introduce yourself and share something interesting with website visitors. Double click to edit the text.
Depression during pregnancy or after birth is far more than just feeling sad — it can show up in ways that many women don't immediately recognize as depression. You might feel emotionally numb or disconnected, like you're going through the motions of caring for your baby without really feeling present. You may find yourself crying without knowing why, or conversely, feeling nothing at all when you expected to feel joy. Everyday tasks that used to feel manageable can start to feel impossible, and the exhaustion you feel goes bone-deep — far beyond what sleep deprivation alone can explain. Some women experience changes in appetite, withdraw from loved ones, or lose interest in things that used to bring them pleasure. Others feel intense irritability or rage rather than sadness, which can be confusing and isolating.
Common thoughts might sound like: "I'm not cut out for this." "My baby would be better off without me." "I've made a terrible mistake." "I love my baby, but I don't feel anything." "Everyone else seems to be handling this fine — what's wrong with me?"
If any of this feels familiar, please know that what you're experiencing has a name, it is treatable, and you are not a bad mother. You are a woman who deserves support.
perinatal anxiety
While postpartum depression gets most of the attention, anxiety is actually the most common perinatal mood disorder — and it can be absolutely relentless. Perinatal anxiety often looks like a worry spiral that you simply cannot turn off. You may find yourself constantly scanning for danger, replaying worst-case scenarios in your mind, or feeling a sense of dread that something terrible is about to happen — even when everything is objectively fine.
Physically, anxiety can show up as a racing heart, shortness of breath, chest tightness, nausea, or an inability to sleep even when you're exhausted. Some women experience panic attacks, while others describe a low-level hum of unease that never quite goes away. Hypervigilance around your baby's safety is common, and while some level of protectiveness is natural, anxiety takes it to a place that feels consuming and uncontrollable.
Common thoughts might sound like: "What if something happens to my baby and I'm not there?" "I can't relax — I need to keep checking." "If I let my guard down, something will go wrong." "I know I'm probably overreacting, but I can't stop." "I haven't slept because I keep watching to make sure they're still breathing."
​
perinatal or postpartum ocd
Perinatal OCD is perhaps the most misunderstood of the perinatal mood disorders, which means it's also the one women are most afraid to talk about. It is characterized by intrusive, unwanted thoughts or mental images, often involving harm coming to the baby, that feel deeply disturbing and completely at odds with who you are as a person.
These are called intrusive thoughts, and they are a symptom of OCD — not a reflection of your desires, your character, or your fitness as a mother. The thoughts are distressing precisely because you love your baby and would never act on them. To cope with the anxiety these thoughts produce, many women develop compulsive behaviors — things like repeatedly checking on the baby, seeking constant reassurance from a partner or doctor, avoiding certain objects or situations, or mentally reviewing their actions to make sure nothing went wrong.
Common thoughts might sound like: "What if I drop the baby?" "What if I hurt them without meaning to?" "Why did that thought just cross my mind — does that make me a monster?" "I can't be trusted alone with my baby." "I would never do anything to harm them, so why can't I stop thinking about it?"
If you are experiencing intrusive thoughts, please hear this clearly: having a thought is not the same as wanting to act on it. Perinatal OCD is highly treatable. You are not dangerous. You are not a bad mother.
traumatic birth or loss
Not every birth story unfolds the way we imagined — and not every pregnancy ends with a baby to bring home. Whether you experienced a frightening or traumatic labor and delivery, a life-threatening complication, an emergency C-section, a NICU stay, a miscarriage, a stillbirth, or the loss of your baby after birth, your pain is real, your grief is valid, and you deserve space to process what you've been through.
Traumatic birth experiences can leave women with symptoms that closely mirror post-traumatic stress disorder. You may find yourself replaying the experience involuntarily — vivid flashbacks or intrusive memories that pull you right back into the delivery room. Certain sounds, smells, or situations might trigger a wave of panic or distress that seems to come out of nowhere. You may go out of your way to avoid anything that reminds you of what happened, find it difficult to talk about the birth, or feel a profound sense of anger, betrayal, or grief over the experience you were supposed to have. Many women also struggle with their body image and sense of bodily autonomy following a birth that felt out of their control.
For those navigating pregnancy or infant loss, grief can be layered and complex in ways that the people around you may not fully understand. You may be mourning not only your baby, but the future you had imagined, the milestones that will never come, and an identity — motherhood — that was taken from you too soon. Well-meaning people may say things like "at least it was early" or "you can try again," leaving you feeling invisible in your grief. You may feel pressure to move on before you're ready, or find yourself struggling to know how to grieve someone that others may not have had the chance to know.
Common thoughts might sound like: "I can't stop thinking about what happened — I feel like I'm back there." "My body failed me." "Why didn't anyone tell me it could go this way?" "No one understands why I'm still not over it." "I'm terrified to try again." "I don't know how to grieve someone I never got to bring home." "I feel guilty for being angry." "I should be further along in my healing by now."
There is no timeline for grief, and there is no right way to heal from trauma or loss. What you experienced matters — all of it.