Pregnancy & Postpartum
It is very common for women to struggle with their identity, their body, their mood, and their relationships throughout pregnancy and after birth. Please do not attempt motherhood alone!
Eating Disorders and Body Image
Regardless if you had an eating disorder prior to pregnancy or not, pregnancy and postpartum is a vulnerable time in life to develop disordered eating behaviors. If you are struggling with your appetite, or body image, please reach out. As mothers, our own sense of worthiness and appreciation for our bodies well get relayed to our babies and kids. Lets work together to improve your relationship with food and your body, so we can build a strong foundation for your littles relationships.
If you want to read more about how your body image impacts your daughters, or how yours was impacted by your mother, check out the work by Hilary McBride.
Traumatic Experiences and Traumatic Births
We live in a social media society that shows only the highlights of the lives around us; a fact that we all know yet still keeps us trapped in competition and secrecy. I want to blow off a lid right now that says pregnancy and birthing is natural and therefore only ever easy and beautiful. Because IT IS NOT. It is hard, it is emotionally challenging, physically testing, and extremely invasive. Your body has become about your child and their needs; which can often force you into situations you would rather not be in. You can plan 100 times over every detail of your pregnancy, your relationship with your OB, and your birth experience, but it will likely not happen that way.
For many, Pregnancy and Birth open up old trauma wounds or create their own traumatic experiences. Trust me when I say if this is you, you are seen, you are heard, you are not crazy, weak, or an unfit mother. You simply need some help to process your experiences, re-evaluate your thoughts, and re-negotiate your relationships.
Read above about how I approach trauma therapy in a general sense, knowing that each person’s experiences are different, especially when it comes to pregnancy, birthing, and recovery trauma.
Anxiety, Depression, and Other Mood Concerns
I want to take a pause on this page right now to say GOOD WORK MOMMA. You are being flooded with so many things at this moment: hormones, baby screams, blow out diapers, and crazy aunt B who hasn’t talked to you for years but now feels the right to invade your space whenever she damn well pleases. You are doing beautifully even if it doesn’t appear that way to others or you. If you are struggling to regulate your emotions through this transition, you are a normal human being.
You might benefit from some additional support if:
> You are crying more than you want to or feel is valid
> You are isolating from your peers and family
> You are experiencing racing thoughts, intrusive thoughts, or sobbing at just the thought of leaving your baby with someone other than yourself, let alone actually doing it
> You just want to be heard and take a few minutes (50 to be exact) for self-care and self-nourishment
If this rings true for you, it is OKAY to reach out for help. Invest in your mental health, your relationship with your body, and it will flow over to your new bundle of joy (and tears).