9 - Some Thoughts on Maternal Mental Health (Part 1 of 4)

Over the last few weeks, my family was home battling one winter illness after another. Being stuck inside, off our normal rhythm, and not feeling our best took a real toll on my mental health and brought the topic of maternal mental health to the forefront of my mind.

I decided to start a series on this topic because I truly believe it can’t be talked about enough. There is still a very narrow picture of when struggles are “allowed” to exist. And far too often, that window feels really small and rigid.

There’s a common misconception that maternal mental health challenges are limited to the first 12 weeks postpartum, and that once you move past that initial period, you should feel settled and adjusted. But maternal mental health doesn’t exist on a strict timeline. You can have a positive early postpartum experience. You can feel bonded. You can love motherhood. And you can still experience postpartum depression or anxiety months (or even years) later.

Even someone like myself, someone who deeply loves motherhood and has made a career out of supporting other mothers, is not (and has not been) immune to mental health struggles in my motherhood journey.

In my opinion, postpartum does not end at 12 weeks. At best, it’s a years-long season. In many ways, it’s a lifelong transition. Motherhood asks us to adapt, give, and carry continually. It is undeniably beautiful, and at times, undeniably difficult.

Whether you are currently feeling on top of the world or if you’re feeling low, your mental health matters. It isn’t only something to pay attention to once things feel hard. It’s something worth protecting before we ever reach that point. Expanding how we think about and regularly talking about postpartum and mental health creates space for earlier awareness, earlier support, and far less shame when challenges arise.

This post is the starting point of a series I’ll be sharing on maternal mental health. In the weeks to come, I’ll talk about how maternal mental health can shift over time (and show up later than expected sometimes), what the struggles may look and feel like, and how we can protect it in practical and preventative ways with non-negotiables I believe are essential in supporting ourselves through motherhood and beyond.

The topic of mental and emotional health deserves ongoing attention. Not just care in moments of crisis.

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