pregnancy & postpartum

You’re growing a life — and transforming your own. Let’s honor both.

Becoming a parent is one of life’s most profound passages. Whether you’re in the midst of pregnancy or navigating the early months after birth, you’re not just changing roles — you’re changing your body, your identity, your rhythms, your relationships. It can be both beautiful and overwhelming.

You want to feel strong, calm, connected — yet sometimes you feel disoriented, fatigued, anxious, or detached. And that’s okay. This is a season of transition, deserving of tenderness, presence, and support.

Does this sound familiar?

• You’re growing a baby and doing your best to keep up with everything else—work, relationships, daily life—but it’s harder than you expected.

• You might feel more anxious than you thought you would, worrying about your baby’s health, labor and delivery, or how life will change once your little one arrives.

• You may notice your emotions shifting from excitement to overwhelm, or find yourself missing your old sense of self. Even after birth, the adjustment can feel intense—physically, emotionally, and mentally.

• Sleep is scarce, your body feels different, and it’s hard to know what “normal” even means anymore.

• You might even wonder how to take care of yourself when all your energy is going to your baby—and you’re not sure where to start.

• Maybe you feel pressure to be grateful or happy all the time, and guilt creeps in when you’re not.

• You’re struggling to stay connected with your partner, family, or friends while trying to hold everything together.

• Your partner may see things differently, communication is thin, you feel unsupported, or the dynamic between past and present selves seems unfamiliar.

• You question your choices, wonder if you’re doing “enough,” worry your decisions aren’t right — even though you’re doing your best.

If you nod along to some of this, please know: you’re not failing — you’re evolving. And this journey deserves gentler footsteps.

Common Stressors During Pregnancy & Early Parenthood

Many of the challenges you face stem from the intersection of physical change, emotional complexity and life’s demands. Some of the key stressors include:

• Pregnancy- and baby-related: Sleep disruptions, changes in appetite and mood, prenatal medical concerns, labour fears, postpartum recovery, infant feeding, grief for the “before” body.

• Personal & emotional: Guilt (for wanting rest), identity loss (you’re rearranging who you are), burnout, emotional swings, the constant “should”s and “what ifs.”

• Financial & practical: Costs of childcare or baby gear, job changes or pauses, balancing returns to work or staying home, broader instability.

• Family & relationship dynamics: Shifts in your partner relationship, co-parenting challenges, extended family’s expectations, caring for generations (baby + parents).

• Work-life balance / role overload: The push to “have it all” — career, parenthood, self-care — often leads to collapse.

• Social & cultural pressure: Feeling isolated by your local support system, comparing yourself to curated online images of motherhood, or shouldering cultural expectations around “good mothering.”

These stressors don’t exist in isolation — they intertwine, amplify each other, and often hide in plain sight until you’re left wondering “When did this feel like too much?”

How we work together in therapy

In this space, we’ll tenderly explore your story and your internal world. Here’s how:

• Uncovering patterns: Where do your feelings of pressure, guilt or inadequacy come from? Together, we’ll identify beliefs about motherhood or “doing it right” that may be guiding you.

• Regulating body & mind: Pregnancy and postpartum bring physical, hormonal and nervous system changes. Pregnancy and postpartum involve significant physical, hormonal, and nervous system changes. We’ll use evidence-informed strategies to support emotional regulation and help you feel more grounded and connected in your body.

• Re-defining success: What values do you want to parent by? How do you want to show up — not just for your baby, but for you? We’ll clarify the values that guide your parenting and explore ways for you to show up for both your baby and yourself in alignment with those values.

• Restoring connection: We’ll focus on strengthening relationships—with your partner, your body, your baby, and your broader support network—through improved communication, boundary-setting, and cultivating the social support essential for well-being.

Evidenced-Based Therapy For Expectant Parents

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT helps you notice and shift unhelpful thoughts like “I should be doing more” or “I’ll never feel like myself again.” Together, we identify the patterns that fuel anxiety, guilt, or self-doubt and replace them with gentler, more realistic perspectives. CBT also offers practical tools for managing intrusive thoughts, regulating mood, and easing postpartum worry.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT invites you to make room for all of your emotions — joy, fear, exhaustion — without judgment. You’ll learn mindfulness skills to stay grounded through uncertainty and connect with your core values rather than external expectations. ACT helps you respond to challenges with compassion and flexibility, rather than perfectionism or self-criticism.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Pregnancy, birth, or postpartum experiences can sometimes leave emotional traces — moments of fear, pain, or helplessness that linger in the body. EMDR helps process and release these memories so they no longer feel overwhelming. It can be especially supportive after a difficult birth, loss, or medical trauma, helping you regain a sense of safety and trust in your body.

This time of life is full of change, wonder, and sometimes uncertainty.

Therapy is about listening deeply, showing up gently, and remembering that your body, your baby, your life together are part of a bigger and kinder story.

This can be a supportive space to process it all, nurture your well-being, and build the tools you need to feel grounded, connected, and self-compassionate as you navigate parenthood.