Top Tips for Supporting Postpartum Mental Health From a Perinatal Psychotherapist
Written by Michelle Green, MA, RP, CCC, CC-PMH, CC-BRT with Brooke Arsenault, RSW
KNOW WHAT POST-PARTUM MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES ARE
Look out for the signs, and have a list of where you can go for support. Be open and honest with yourself and with others about how you are feeling.
FIND A THERAPIST THAT MAKES YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE AND SUPPORTED!
Even if you meet with them for 1-2 sessions, psycho-education and normalization about what you are thinking and feeling can be incredibly supportive and impactful. If you are co-parenting, we also recommend having the name of a perinatally-informed couples therapist accessible to you! The Postpartum period can be quite a shaky time for couple relationships, a therapist may help you to learn how to lean on each other through these trying times, rather push each other away.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR BASIC NEEDS FIRST
Don’t forget that you are a FULL human being, even after becoming a Mom. Your sleep, food, water, time to go to the bathroom, etc. are still important and deserve to be protected. You are the best person to protect for, communicate and advocate for these needs to be met.
FIND A GOOD COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE YOU CAN TRUST AND LEAN ON THEM.
Ask for exactly what you need, and ask often. It’s a hard practice to get into, but start now! Remember: It is not a crime to inconvenience other people so that you can get your needs met. Join a supportive group such as Emerging Mothers at The WOMB. These groups create life long friendships that help with bonding and community.
PRACTICE SELF-COMPASSION, GRACE AND TENDERNESS FOR YOURSELF, YOUR BODY, YOUR PARTNER, YOUR CHILD AND YOUR RELATIONSHIPS.
The #1 theme of Postpartum has to be grace. It is a messy time, nothing will be perfect, things won’t go as planned. We need to gentle with ourselves as this messiness unfolds.
REDUCE THE “NOISE” OF ANXIOUS PARENTING CULTURE.
We are surrounded by “noise” on how to “do parenting right.” Take an inventory in your life on where your “noise” seeps in, and start to limit the noise that overwhelms you, or makes you feel disempowered. I always recommend finding 1-3 resources (for example: a book, midwife, OB, parent, or friend, or one website) that ALIGN with your values, and feel supportive. The trick is to then STICK TO THESE RESOURCES, and avoid Dr. Google, and Instagram/Tiktok for your parenting advice. Deleting, or reducing social media use is also something that might be
a great fit for you, but do what feels right.
WHEN YOU ARE ABLE, INTEGRATE PLAY AND JOY AWAY FROM YOUR BABY.
“Off duty” time (even if it is 5 minutes at the beginning) is so important for new parents to know that they are still humans beings, and that there is a world outside of diapers and bottles and pumping. Think about how you might protect, or slowly integrate some time for just you, to connect the “pre-parent” parts of you that you are missing (ex: a call with an old friend, reading a fun book, playing a video game etc.).
To access The WOMB’s team of trauma informed and perinatal-informed therapists, either book online at TheWOMB.ca or call your closest location directly.
