Reproductive Mental Health
Reproductive journeys are deeply personal, and they can also be emotionally complex. Whether you’re navigating fertility treatments like IVF or egg retrieval, considering adoption, facing the emotional aftermath of a traumatic birth, or adjusting to life postpartum, your mental health matters. Every cycle, every decision, every experience can bring up a range of feelings: grief, hope, anxiety, joy, or all of the above. You’re not alone, and you don’t have to go through it unsupported. We offer compassionate, evidence-based care for individuals and couples across all phases of the reproductive journey.
Postpartum Depression
After giving birth, mothers can experience a wide range of powerful emotions, including excitement, fear, joy, happiness, and anxiety. Unexpectedly, mothers can also begin to feel depressed. Most new moms are familiar with the term “baby blues” after childbirth. The “baby blues” include mood swings, crying spells, trouble sleeping, and feelings of anxiety. These can last up to two weeks postpartum. Some new moms will experience a more severe, long-lasting form of depression, also known as postpartum depression.
Symptoms of Postpartum Depression
- Depressed mood or severe mood swings
- Excessive crying
- Difficulty bonding with your newborn
- Withdraw from family and friends
- Insomnia & sleep troubles
- Loss of appetite or increased appetite
- Fatigue or no energy
- Irritability
- Hopelessness
- Feelings of worthlessness, guilt, or shame
- Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby
- Difficulty concentrating
- Reduced interest in activities you used to enjoy
- Anxiety and panic attacks
- Restlessness
- Recurrent thoughts of suicide or death
Many factors play into postpartum depression, but no single cause. Physical and emotional issues may play a role in the onset of postpartum depression. After a mother gives birth, changes in hormone levels in your body may lead to feelings of depression and leave you feeling fatigued. Sleep deprivation, feeling overwhelmed, feelings of unattractiveness, struggling with identity, and doubt may contribute to postpartum depression.
How Therapy Can Help
Treatment options can look different for everyone depending on severity, individual needs, or other underlying factors such as hormone levels or illness. As always, it is important to consult with your physician, who may then offer specific testing or a referral to a mental health professional.
Psychotherapy and treatment models such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help you:
- Find healthy way to cope with feelings
- Set goals
- Identify unhelping thinking
- Identify support systems
- Help adjust your lifestyle to support you and your newborn
- Help you build positive and healthy responses
Postpartum Anxiety
It is common to have feelings of anxiety or some level of worry after giving birth. Sometimes these feelings of worry get out of control and can feel like they are taking over your thoughts. Postpartum anxiety can also occur along with postpartum depression, but the conditions are different despite sharing many of the same symptoms.
Postpartum anxiety affects between 11% and 21% of individuals at birth.
Symptoms Of Postpartum Anxiety
- Racing thoughts
- Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, despite feeling exhausted
- Changes in heart rate/breathing
- Dread of a sense of danger
- Excessive worry about the baby’s health or safety
- Feeling jittery or agitated
- Nausea/dizziness
- Loss of appetite
- Trouble sitting still
- Muscle Tension
- Difficulty focusing or forgetfulness
A change in hormone levels, lack of sleep, a new overwhelming sense of responsibility, stress, and sometimes health conditions can put you at a higher risk for developing postpartum anxiety.
How Therapy Can Help
Similar to postpartum depression treatment, psychotherapy and techniques such as CBT can be helpful in reframing thoughts, building coping skills to deal with feelings of anxiety, and providing psycho-education to help you learn about what you are currently experiencing.
It may feel like you are all alone, but you are not. Call or book an appointment with us for support alongside your new journey in motherhood and to help you overcome postpartum depression/anxiety.
Other Reproductive Mental Health Impacts
While postpartum is one of the most commonly recognized mental health concerns, it’s only one part of the picture. Reproductive mental health also includes — but isn’t limited to — experiences like fertility challenges, egg retrieval, IVF, adoption, birth trauma, and pregnancy loss.
IVF & Fertility Challenges
Fertility treatments like IVF and egg retrieval can be physically intense and emotionally exhausting. From hormone shifts and constant appointments to long stretches of waiting, the process often comes with a heavy mix of hope, uncertainty, and pressure. You might feel anxious, isolated, or even guilty for struggling with something you “should” feel grateful for — but the truth is, it’s a lot. Whether you’re preparing for your first cycle, in the middle of treatment, or recovering from a difficult round, your feelings are valid. Therapy offers a supportive space to process emotions, manage stress, and stay connected to your well-being through every phase of the journey.
Traumatic Birth
Even when a birth results in a healthy baby, the experience itself can be deeply traumatic. Unexpected complications, feeling unheard, medical interventions, or moments of fear can leave lasting emotional scars. And when the birth outcome isn’t what you hoped for, if your baby experienced health issues or if you faced loss, the grief and trauma can be even more profound. If you find yourself replaying the birth, feeling anxious, disconnected, or struggling to heal, you’re not alone. Birth trauma is real and support is available. Therapy can help you process what happened, honor your experience, and begin to reclaim a sense of safety and control in your body and mind.
Adoption
Adoption is a meaningful and life-changing journey, but it can also stir up complex emotions for everyone involved. Whether you’re navigating the decision to adopt, coping with the uncertainty of the process, or adjusting to life after placement, it’s normal to experience a mix of hope, grief, anxiety, and joy. Therapy can help you process these feelings, explore identity shifts, and build emotional resilience throughout the adoption journey. We also support birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees in honoring their experiences and finding grounding in the midst of transition.
Abortion
Abortion is a deeply personal decision, and everyone’s emotional response is different. Some feel relief, others feel grief — many feel a mix of both. No matter the reason or the outcome, you deserve space to process your experience without judgment. Therapy can offer support before or after an abortion, helping you navigate complex emotions, challenge stigma, and reconnect with your sense of self in a safe, affirming environment.
Commonly Asked Questions
Can I seek therapy even if I haven’t been diagnosed with a mental health condition?
Absolutely! There is no threshold you need to cross to need support: you deserve it. You don’t need a diagnosis to benefit from therapy. If you’re feeling emotionally overwhelmed, stuck, or simply in need of support while navigating a reproductive experience, therapy can be a proactive and healing space.
What if I feel guilty for struggling, shouldn’t I just be grateful?
It’s possible to feel gratitude and grief at the same time. Struggling emotionally doesn’t make you ungrateful — it makes you human. Your feelings are valid, even if things “look fine” from the outside.
What I can expect from therapy?
Many of us enter therapy hoping to get some quick relief from the distress that we are experiencing. We are aware that therapy is costing us a lot in terms of time, money, and energy and we want to see some immediate results, especially when we are in pain. It is important that you talk with me about your expectations and needs from therapy. Just like any relationship, the more you know and can express what you want, the better chance you will have of receiving that. You may be entering therapy for the first time and not have a sense of what needs to happen other than you want to feel better. It is important to express this as well.
Here is a list of what I have seen to be true for many people about therapy:
- It takes time to establish a trusting relationship with a therapist.
- It is important to go at your own pace and not overwhelm yourself.
- We all resist change. Don’t be surprised if you are tempted to quit right before some real changes or breakthroughs are about to happen.
- Becoming more healthy and balanced can feel very unfamiliar and uncomfortable at first.
- Being committed to therapy will change your life. Be prepared to feel some loss from this.
- Others may resist your changes and growth and will need time to adapt.
- Therapy is hard work.
Can reproductive mental health issues affect partners too?
Yes. Partners can also experience anxiety, depression, grief, or identity shifts during fertility treatments, pregnancy, or postpartum life. At this practice, we support individuals and couples in navigating these changes together.
I’m afraid to talk about what I’m feeling, what if people don’t understand?
That fear is common. Reproductive experiences are deeply personal, and not everyone gets it. Therapy offers a space where you don’t have to filter your words or minimize your feelings: just be real, and be supported.
Take the First Step Towards Change
Contact Marina Edelman, LMFT, today for a confidential consultation.
Learn More About Marina Edelman’s Services
You can also find more information on her Psychology Today profile: Marina Edelman – Psychology Today. Or explore resources on the AEDP Institute website: Marina Edelman – AEDP Institute
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