Postpartum Counseling

Understanding PMADs (Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders) and How Therapy Can Help

 

Welcoming a new baby is often portrayed as a time filled with joy, bonding, and love. But for many new parents, the reality is far more complex. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or not at all how you expected, please know—you are not alone, and there is nothing wrong with you.

 

Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) affect people of all genders and backgrounds, whether this is your first child or your fifth. PMADs encompass a range of emotional and psychological experiences that can occur during pregnancy or after birth. These include postpartum depression, anxiety, intrusive or scary thoughts, irritability, excessive worry about the baby’s health and safety, difficulty bonding, changes in sleep or appetite, and even moments of despair or disorientation.

 

These experiences can feel confusing, alarming, and isolating—especially when they don’t match the expectations you had for this chapter of your life. You may feel guilt, shame, or fear about what you’re feeling, and struggle to share it with others. But having these feelings doesn’t make you a bad parent—it makes you human.

 

Therapy offers a safe, supportive space to make sense of what you’re experiencing and to know you're not alone in it. Together, we can explore the emotional shifts you're going through, identify symptoms of PMADs, and help you reconnect with your sense of self and stability. Our work will focus not only on relief and coping, but also on self-compassion, restoring your confidence, and rebuilding emotional resilience during this deeply vulnerable and transformative time.

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You deserve care, support, and healing—not just for your baby, but for yourself.