Pregnancy & Postpartum Mental Health
Support for emotional and mental-health concerns during pregnancy, postpartum, and the transition to parenthood, available in person in Saint John and virtually across New Brunswick.
Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period can bring significant emotional, physical, and relational changes. It is normal to experience a mixture of feelings, but anxiety, low mood, intrusive thoughts, trauma responses, or feeling unable to cope may signal that additional support is needed.
Perinatal mental health refers to emotional well-being during pregnancy and the first year after birth. Mental-health concerns can begin during pregnancy, emerge after delivery, or involve the return or worsening of an existing concern. Support is available, and you do not have to wait until symptoms become severe before reaching out.
Mental Health During Pregnancy
Pregnancy can bring anxiety, low mood, intrusive thoughts, uncertainty, or changes in identity and relationships. These concerns may arise even when a pregnancy is wanted and can be influenced by previous loss, trauma, health concerns, or difficult circumstances.
Postpartum Depression & Anxiety
Postpartum concerns may involve persistent sadness, fear, irritability, guilt, difficulty enjoying things, or feeling unable to cope. These experiences are more significant and longer-lasting than the short-lived “baby blues” and deserve appropriate support.
Birth, Identity & Adjustment
A difficult or unexpected birth, feeding challenges, sleep deprivation, relationship changes, and the transition into parenthood can affect emotional well-being. Therapy can support adjustment, identity, connection, and the processing of birth-related experiences.
When Additional Support Might Help
Pregnancy and early parenthood can be demanding, and difficult days do not necessarily mean something is wrong. Support may be helpful when emotional distress becomes persistent, increasingly intense, or begins interfering with your ability to function or feel like yourself.
You may notice:
- Ongoing anxiety, sadness, irritability, or emotional overwhelm
- Feeling unable to relax even when there is an opportunity to rest
- Distressing or unwanted thoughts that are difficult to manage
- Persistent guilt, shame, self-criticism, or fear of being a “bad” parent
- Difficulty feeling connected to your pregnancy, baby, partner, or sense of self
- Feeling numb, disconnected, or unlike yourself
- Replaying a frightening or unexpected pregnancy, birth, or medical experience
- Withdrawing from others or feeling unable to ask for help
- Relationship strain or conflict about parenting, responsibilities, or support
- Existing anxiety, depression, trauma, or other mental-health concerns becoming more difficult
You do not need to wait until you are in crisis or have a formal diagnosis to seek support.
How Therapy Can Help
Therapy offers a confidential space to talk honestly about pregnancy, birth, postpartum life, and parenthood, including feelings that may be difficult to share with others. Support can be tailored to your experiences, relationships, culture, values, and the circumstances surrounding your transition.
Therapy can work alongside medical care, medication, public-health support, and other perinatal services when those are part of your care.
Therapy may help you:
- Manage anxiety, low mood, irritability, or emotional overwhelm
- Respond to intrusive or distressing thoughts with less fear and shame
- Process a difficult pregnancy, birth experience, or medical trauma
- Adjust to changes in identity, body, relationships, and daily life
- Explore bonding or attachment concerns without judgement
- Communicate your needs and navigate relationship strain
- Develop realistic coping strategies for sleep deprivation and exhaustion
- Address grief connected to unmet expectations or a changed birth or feeding plan
- Prepare for pregnancy or postpartum when you have an existing mental-health concern
- Strengthen support, boundaries, and confidence in asking for help
Frequently Asked Questions
The baby blues commonly involve tearfulness, irritability, or feeling overwhelmed during the first days after birth and usually improve within about two weeks. Postpartum depression involves more persistent or significant symptoms that affect mood, functioning, relationships, or the ability to cope and should be discussed with a healthcare provider.
Yes. You do not need to wait until after your baby is born. Therapy during pregnancy can help with anxiety, depression, trauma, pregnancy after loss, relationship concerns, birth preparation, or worries about the postpartum period.
Unwanted and distressing thoughts can occur during pregnancy or postpartum and do not necessarily reflect what someone wants or intends to do. However, thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, feeling unable to stay safe, hearing or seeing things others do not, or feeling disconnected from reality require urgent medical help.
Seek immediate help if you may harm yourself or your baby, feel unable to keep yourself or your baby safe, experience severe confusion, hear or see things others do not, or feel disconnected from reality. Call 911 for an immediate emergency or call or text 988 for suicide-crisis support in Canada. Postpartum psychosis is a medical emergency.
Yes. Pregnancy, birth, and the transition to parenthood can also affect fathers and partners. Support is also available for fathers or partners also experiencing anxiety, low mood, relationship strain, changing roles, or difficulty adjusting during the perinatal and postpartum period.
Not Sure Where To Start?
Nancy is Certified in Maternal Mental Health and has also completed training in CBT Essentials within Perinatal Mental Health. She has a particular interest in supporting clients through pregnancy, postpartum mental health, early parenthood, and the emotional and identity changes that can accompany becoming a parent.
Nancy also supports fathers and partners navigating perinatal and postpartum transitions, including anxiety, low mood, relationship changes, changing roles, and the adjustment to parenthood.
Or explore our full team of therapist profiles.