​This page gathers articles exploring emotional well-being during pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenting. The writings here reflect a trauma-informed perspective on perinatal mental health and are intended to support understanding, self-compassion, and informed care.

Topics range from mood and anxiety challenges to trauma-informed support, nervous system–aware approaches, and gentle self-care during the childbearing year.

​

​​

Explore Common Perinatal Mental Health Topics 

​

Anxiety and Hyperarousal

​

Persistent worry, racing thoughts, irritability, and difficulty resting often reflect a nervous system stuck in a state of high alert. During pregnancy and postpartum, heightened vigilance can feel protective, but when it becomes chronic, it exhausts the system and the body.

​

Depression and Shutdown

​

Low mood, fatigue, disconnection, and feelings of emptiness may reflect a nervous system that has shifted into a conservation or shutdown state after prolonged stress or overwhelm. This is not giving up; This is not giving up; it is the body’s attempt to survive when resources feel depleted.it is the body’s  

 

Trauma and the Childbearing Year 

​

For some individuals, pregnancy, birth, or the postpartum period can activate emotional or body-based responses related to earlier life trauma. Trauma-informed perinatal mental health care recognizes the impact of prior experiences and emphasizes safety, choice, and compassionate support. Emotional reactions during this time are not a personal failure — they are understandable responses that deserve care.

​

Birth Trauma and Medical Stress

​

Unexpected outcomes, loss of control, pain, or perceived threat during pregnancy or birth can overwhelm the nervous system’s capacity to process experience in real time. Trauma symptoms arise when the system remains stuck in survival mode after the event has passed.

​

​

Intrusive Thoughts and OCD Symptoms  

​

Intrusive images or thoughts often reflect a nervous system attempting to prevent harm through constant scanning and mental rehearsal. The content may be distressing, but the underlying mechanism is protective, not dangerous.

​

Regulation vs. Coping: A Nervous System Shift 

​

Traditional mental health approaches often focus on cognitive coping strategies alone. While valuable, they may fall short when the nervous system is dysregulated. Regulation-based care supports the body first, allowing the mind to follow.

​

Nervous system regulation does not mean staying calm all the time. It means building the capacity to move flexibly between activation and rest, stress and recovery, connection and solitude.

​

Key principles include:

​

• Safety before insight

• Sensation before story

• Connection before correction

• Support before self-blame

​

Attachment, Co-Regulation, and the Perinatal Nervous System

​

Humans are wired for co-regulation. During the perinatal period, support from partners, providers, and communities is not optional; it is biologically protective. Feeling seen, believed, and supported directly influences nervous system stability.

​

Perinatal mental health challenges often improve not because someone “tries harder,” but because they experience consistent, attuned support that allows their system to rest and reorganize.

​

A Compassionate Reframe

​

If you are struggling during pregnancy or postpartum, your nervous system is responding to something real. Your symptoms make sense in context. Healing does not require fixing yourself. It requires understanding, support, and regulation.

​

Perinatal mental health is not about returning to who you were before. It's about supporting your nervous system as it adapts to who you are becoming.

​

DBT Skills for Pregnancy and Postpartum

​

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers practical, evidence-based skills that can be especially supportive during pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenting—times when emotions may feel intense and the nervous system is under added strain. The DBT practices linked below remain grounded in the core DBT framework and are thoughtfully adapted to address common perinatal challenges such as anxiety, overwhelm, sleep disruption, and identity shifts.

​​

 

You are not broken. Your nervous system is doing its best to protect you during one of the most profound transitions of your life.

​

Namaste. 

​

​Explore Articles on Perinatal Mental Health

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​