Maternal Mental Health

Here at Coast Family, we specialize in all things related to becoming parents.

The beginning stages of your fertility journey:

• The “trying to get pregnant” stage

• Managing stressors, pressure, stops and starts, unfulfilled hopes, messy or uncomfortable and loss-filled beginnings

• Build effective coping responses, learn to tell your story (even if just to yourself!), boundary-setting with others

• Keeping life large and meaningful throughout the process

• Space to grieve, reimagine, and experience compassion

• Discuss losses if they occur or have occurred for any reason: miscarriage, terminating for medical reasons, abortion, molar or other unviable pregnancies, stillbirth

 

The transitions experienced during pregnancy:

• "Matrescence": the physical, hormonal, emotional, and social transition to becoming a mother 

• Relationship to partner

• Relationship to extended family

• Relationship to self

• Relationship to body 

• Life transitions 

• Possibly unprocessed resurfacing trauma

• Generational trauma discussions

• Challenge and change unworkable and outdated beliefs about yourself, parenting, your body, partnership, and the potential birthing experience.

• Receive objective symptom questionnaires to track mood stability 

• Relationship to other children in home as well as preparing them and yourself for upcoming changes  

Preparing for and giving birth:

• Discuss feelings about birth

• Process your birth afterward

• Expectations vs reality

• Developing a birth plan that is about how you show up to the moment and less about predicting what will happen

• Receive and practice specific coping skills for pain, pain tolerance, and significant mental discomfort associated with the birthing process in order to increase resilience and reduce anxiety and dysregulated experiences 

• Discuss boundary-setting and conversation checklist with medical providers 

 

The postpartum period:

• "Matrescence" in postpartum: when your mothering voice and being goes “live”

• Your breastfeeding journey

• What to look out for that could could be signals that you need support for:

  • Postpartum Anxiety

  • Postpartum Depression

  • Postpartum OCD

• Receive objective symptom questionnaire to track mood stability

• Safe place to express vulnerable emotions/navigating life changes

• Problem-solve: daily tasks, asking for help to meet your needs, giving yourself compassion while remaining accountable, deciding what to let go of and clarifying what’s important and why

• Connecting with your new baby

• Understanding the new and constantly unfolding dynamic between you and partner and other children

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If you are struggling with any maternal mental health-related struggles, please reach out for a free consult to see how we can help. We are here for you.