Prenatal & Postpartum Therapy

“No matter how much you hoped, wanted, and planned for motherhood, this transition will, at times, be stressful. And the intensity of these feelings has nothing to do with how good a mother you’ll be, or how much you’ll love your children.”

Alexandra Sacks

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are the #1 medical complication related to childbearing but often goes undiagnosed, leaving expecting and new parents to struggle in silence.  Many experience some mild mood changes during or after giving birth while a smaller group experience more significant symptoms that fall under various PMAD diagnoses. These symptoms can appear any time during pregnancy and into the first 18 months after childbirth.

 When people think of maternal mental health, they typically just think of “postpartum depression” but there are many different mental health diagnoses in the perinatal period including:

  • Prenatal & postpartum depression

  • Prenatal & postpartum anxiety

  • Prenatal & postpartum OCD

  • Postpartum PTSD & birth trauma

  • Postpartum bipolar

  • Postpartum psychosis

The world of pregnancy and parenthood comes with a lot of noise, uncertainty, unsolicited advice (and judgement). Our clinicians can help you drown out that noise and tune into your intuition. Evidence-based approaches such as cognitive behavioural therapy and narrative therapy are used to help clients process the spectrum of emotions and thoughts that surface during pregnancy and in life after birth.

Having someone you can talk to is incredibly helpful for many during this time. In fact, isolation and lack of support is a leading cause of perinatal mood disorders.

Depending on the type of support the client is looking for, this session can cover topics such as: birth preferences, fears, role of partner/support, healthy boundaries with family/friends, processing emotional blockages, identity shifts, and adjusting to physical changes. The prenatal period can feel overwhelming and scary at times, but you don’t have to feel alone.

Giving birth is one of the most life-changing events and with that comes a lot to process.

If you are in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and looking for support through pregnancy and postpartum life, please call or email us to schedule an appointment.

If you are in Kitchener-Waterloo and surrounding areas and interested in counselling, please call us at 226-647-1710 or email at info@exhaletherapy.ca to set up an appointment.