Pregnancy + Postpartum
Could you use some support as you navigate this transition in life?
Ready to work thorough new boundaries and family expectations as your family grows?
Looking to build communication skills with your partner as you prepare for or navigate this time with new challenges?
Notice some perinatal anxiety or depression that you would like support with?
Looking to build up coping skills to support you in giving birth?
Need support around trauma healing either due to past trauma resurfacing or new traumas showing up during this time?
Do you ave a history of anxiety, depression, or other mental health concern that you want to be prepared to support as needed during this significant life transition?
We are here to help. We have therapists who specifically specialize in the times of pregnancy, postpartum, and parenthood who are ready to support you!
Pregnancy + Postpartum Support in Minnesota
The perinatal period includes pregnancy and postpartum, as well as fertility challenges (check this page out for more information on fertility challenges). These major transitions require a lot of support for anyone! Growing your family is a major life change.
While it is common to struggle with mental health during this time - it doesn't have to be this hard, and you don't have to do it alone.
Many people struggle during this time, yet getting support around it isn't always normalized. At Minnesota Attachment Collective, we believe that we are all worthy of support. We are here to support parents, pregnant individuals, supportive partners, mothers, fathers, and anyone in the system of this pregnancy, postpartum, or parenthood phase of life.
How pregnancy and postpartum can affect mental health
Growing your family is a major life transition - which can come with its own set of mental health concerns. Your journey to pregnancy may have included some unique challenges such as an unplanned pregnancy, uncertainty, anxiety, infertility, or pregnancy loss which can contribute to anxiety or depression during pregnancy.
Even if your journey to pregnancy was smooth, it's common to struggle with your mental health during pregnancy. Hormonal shifts, physical symptoms of discomfort, trouble sleeping, changes in your body, relationship changes, and preparing for childbirth all can take a toll.
Day to day life tasks, including work, household chores, maintaining relationships, etc. can feel more challenging during pregnancy. For those experiencing a difficult pregnancy, high risk pregnancy, or those with a history of pregnancy/birth trauma or medical trauma- it is understandable to experience a high level of stress during this time.
And once this baby enters the world, your life can feel like it has been turned upside down. Significant hormone shifts can cause postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, or other mental health issues. Your birth experience may leave you with a lot of emotions to unpack. And then, there are all of the changes that occur in parenthood.
Lack of sleep, difficulty with family expectations, breastfeeding challenges, any health concerns for baby, and all of the changes that occur can bring about a lot of stress and overwhelm. On top of any postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety or other mental health concerns- you may also be experiencing difficulty communicating with your partner, uncertainty of how to support older children during this time, challenges with extended family, doubt in your own abilities, and difficulty being present during this time in your life.
While we often feel the expectation that we should be able to have it all together- this is an extremely challenging time and it is understandable that we all need support during it. Whether you are new parents, a pregnant individual, the support parent, or a foster or adoptive parent- you deserve support.
In addition to the more expected challenges, some parents may face very traumatizing moments during their pregnancy or postpartum periods. These may include fertility challenges, pregnancy or infant loss, infant health issues or NICU stays, or parent health complications. There is no doubt that these concerns can have a significant impact on mental health.
Perinatal mental health impacts mothers, fathers, and anyone in the system. This is a significant change in life - and it makes sense that you would need additional support.
Noticing any emotional symptoms such as feeling stressed, overwhelmed, reactive, worried, sad, or disconnected can be a sign that you need support. Those with a history of anxiety disorders or depression may be at a higher risk for postpartum mental health concerns. And, those who have experienced trauma in the past may benefit from some extra support during new phases of life such as this.
While you don't have to meet a specific diagnostic criteria to benefit from therapy, here is a general overview of some of the more common pregnancy and/or postpartum mental health issues that can arise:
Postpartum Anxiety can look like racing thoughts, excessive worry about a safe pregnancy, high anxiety around safe sleep or other infant safety areas, worry that you're not doing a good enough job, generalized anxious thoughts, intrusive thoughts, difficulty trusting other support systems or family members with your baby, panic attacks, or feeling excessive anxiety for life stresses.
Postpartum OCD can look like strong intrusive thoughts or excessive anxieties about specific fears, such as something going wrong with the pregnancy, harm coming to your baby or child, or something bad happening to yourself or a family member. These thoughts are hard to push away and may be accompanied by compensatory behaviors such as excessive checking or monitoring, frequently researching things, or avoiding anything that isn't completely safe.
Postpartum Depression can look like negative thoughts, excessive self-doubt, hopelessness, difficulty connecting with pregnancy or the new baby, excessive sadness, feelings of shame, and withdrawing from your support system.
Traumatic Experiences that show up during the perinatal period can include infertility, pregnancy loss, feeling a lack of support with your family or medical team, a traumatic birth experience, navigating the foster/adoption system, infant loss, or health concerns for the baby or parent. Past traumatic experiences, such as previous perinatal trauma or attachment trauma from your family system are also common to be triggered during pregnancy or postparum.
Whether you fit a specific perinatal mental health diagnosis or not- if you are feeling like you could use some extra support during this time - you deserve it! This is a significant life transition, which means that it's understandable to need space to process and connect to what is most meaningful for you during this time.
What symptoms might let me know I need support?
We Offer a Special Connection Between Trauma Informed Care and Fertility Counseling
Pregnancy and postpartum often connects to experiences of trauma - and that is why all of the therapists here at Minnesota Attachment Collective also specialize in trauma. Experiences on the journey to pregnancy, during pregnancy, during childbirth, or during the postpartum period can feel traumatic and need trauma-informed approaches in order to heal.
Additionally, this significant life transition can often bring up past attachment trauma wounds from our upbringing or other significant relationships. When we hold space for healing these past wounds, we are showing up for ourselves as well as for our new baby and family.
What Therapy for Infertility or Pregnancy Loss Looks Like at Minnesota Attachment Collective?
Work with a therapist who specializes in perinatal mental health
Here, you can work with a therapist who specializes in pregnancy, postpartum, and parenthood. We have specific training in supporting these transitions in life, and get how challenging they can be from our own experience. We truly get it. With us, there is no need to worry that you will be judged for your struggles or that you will have to explain the processes of pregnancy, childbirth, or postpartum. It's our specialty and we are passionate about supporting you through it!
We will help you process your experience
We are here to help you hold space for it all. In a judgment free zone, you can go over your story. We will help you to process your past experiences that may be impacting your mental health in the current moment, the current situations you are navigating, any emotional distress you are experiencing, and what you hope to connect to. Together, we can slow things down so that you can take inventory of what you're going though.
We will honor your emotional experience- which can often include conflicting emotions of uncertainty and excitement, grief and hope, sadness and joy. Here, it all gets to exist.
We will support you in gaining skills to help you through this transition
The shifts in hormones, changes in routines, and all of the new responsibilities can leave most parents feeling overwhelmed. One of the most important things that you can do to navigate all of these new things is build in coping skills.
These coping skills will help you to regulate your nervous system, improve your decision making processes, and support your relationships. Therapy is a great way to build up your tool box so that you can slow down, tune into your feelings and needs, and connect to what feels best for you and your family.
We will help you to be present in your process
If you're feeling overwhelmed- you're human. It's a challenging time in life. And while it's important to be present with and explore the things that feel hard, it's also important to connect to the moments of joy and hope.
Together, we can hold space for the tough stuff so that there is more room for the things that feel good to. You deserve to feel hopeful, connected, supported, and confident in your process. We are here to help you grow into the parenthood experience that fulfills you!
We are here to help.
We understand how complex pregnancy and postpartum can feel. We are here to help you hold space for your experience and connect to the healing that you need.
Individual Therapy
Therapy in a one-on-one context. Whether you are a pregnant individual, mother, father, support partner, new parent, or parent to an extra baby in the family- we are here to support you. In individual therapy, we can explore your story, bring in healing practices, and help you connect to an experience that is fulfilling to you.
Couples Therapy
Couples therapy can be great on its own or in addition to individual therapy. In couples therapy, you can process your experiences in pregnancy, postpartum, or parenthood together. We can hold space for individual healing with the support of the partner, practicing communication skills, navigating shifts in responsibilities and expectations in the relationship, and learn how to carve out moments for connection even with all of the new routines. Couples therapy can help support you as you grow as a couple through this time that can also feel so challenging.
Other Supportive Specialties
The additional specialties offered at Minnesota Attachment Collective can help you get set up with a therapist who can be a great fit for many of your different lived experiences. All of our therapists specialize in trauma and provide a high level of trauma informed care. We also have therapists who specialize in fertility challenges and the later stages of parenthood. Our care is intended to support the long term needs of our clients, and we value the ongoing therapeutic relationship in the work that we do.
How We Can Help
Find Your Best Fit
Find a therapist that is a great fit for you! Each of our therapist have additional specialties in order to support you the best.
Support Through an Inclusive Lens
We want to make sure that you feel seen and heard, have space for healing, and are able to connect to yourself and your support system in meaningful ways. We know that families can be comprised in a number of different ways, and so we make sure that our care is welcoming to partnerships of all genders and sexual orientations, polyamorous partnerships, as well as single parent families.
Are you ready to hold space for healing? We would be honored to get to be a part of your process.
Let’s work together.
Get support through pregnancy, postpartum, and parenthood today. For those located in the Twin Cities, we have in-person therapy sessions available in Burnsville. We also have virtual therapy sessions available to anyone who lives in Minnesota.