Therapy for Support with Pregnancy & Postpartum After Loss and Infertility

Examples of mental health difficulties during pregnancy:

If you are pregnant following a miscarriage, stillbirth, or another form of pregnancy loss or baby loss, you may be coping with grief and experiencing anxiety symptoms. This may look like uncontrollable worry, feelings of guilt, or mixed emotions.

If you are pregnant after going through multiple rounds of fertility treatment (such as IUI or IVF), you may be struggling to adjust to the pregnancy. After trying to conceive for so long, perhaps it takes a while to feel like this is really happening.

If you are an intended parent having a baby through gestational surrogacy after experiencing infertility and/or pregnancy loss, you may be experiencing heightened anxiety, a need for reassurance, and a need for control during the gestational carrier’s pregnancy. You also may be grieving the loss of not carrying the pregnancy and not giving birth yourself.

Examples of mental health difficulties postpartum:

If you are a parent who conceived with the help of fertility treatment (such as IUI or IVF), you may feel pressure to be a “grateful” or “perfect” parent to the child you have longed for. You may feel guilt reaching out to your support system for help or guilt “complaining” because you “should” be so grateful to have a living child. You may also be having a difficult time maintaining friendships and other social relationships, or you may be experiencing increased conflict in your relationship as you and your partner or spouse adjust to becoming parents.

If you adopted a child, you may be experiencing challenges integrating your child into the family. Some adoptive parents may also experience post-adoption depression transitioning to parenthood.

If you are experiencing anxiety or depression symptoms lasting two weeks or more after giving birth, you may be experiencing postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, or postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder. Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are the most common complication following childbirth, affecting approximately 20% of birthing people.

What does postpartum depression feel like?

  • Frequent crying

  • Sadness

  • Irritability

  • Feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt

  • Excessive guilt

  • Feelings of worthlessness

  • Feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope

  • Frequent anger and/or rage

  • Feeling let down or disappointed by the experience of parenting

  • Loss of pleasure or interest in activities

  • Having trouble connecting with your baby

  • Feeling lonely

  • Feeling unlike your usual self.

What does postpartum anxiety feel like?

  • Restlessness

  • Trouble concentrating

  • Trouble falling asleep or early awakening

  • Trouble going back to sleep when waking up in the middle of the night

  • Muscle tension

  • Excessive worry and having trouble controlling the worry

  • Irritability

  • Panic attacks

Therapy can be a helpful outlet during this time. Together, we can work on finding healthy ways to express your emotions and develop coping strategies.

Ready to take the next step?

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