Postpartum

Welcoming your baby is a profound transition—for your heart, mind, and body.

Bringing a new baby into your family is often described as one of life's happiest moments. While it can be filled with joy and love, it can also bring exhaustion, uncertainty, grief, anxiety, and overwhelming responsibility. For many parents, the postpartum period is far more emotionally complex than they expected.

Whether you're experiencing persistent worry, difficulty bonding with your baby, sadness that won't lift, intrusive thoughts, or simply feel like you've lost yourself in the transition to parenthood, you're not alone. These experiences are more common than many people realize, and they are treatable.

At Magnify Family Wellness, therapy provides a space to care for you during a season when so much of your attention is focused on caring for everyone else.

We're rarely told...

The postpartum period is about more than recovery.

The weeks and months after childbirth involve tremendous physical, emotional, and relational change. You're healing from pregnancy and birth while adjusting to disrupted sleep, changing routines, new responsibilities, shifting relationships, and a completely new identity.

In a relatively short period of time, you may be adapting to:

  • Physical recovery from pregnancy and birth

  • Hormonal changes

  • Sleep deprivation

  • Feeding challenges

  • Changes in your relationship with your partner

  • Shifting family roles

  • Returning to work or stepping away from work

  • Increased responsibilities

  • Loss of routine or independence

  • Questions about your identity

  • Constant decision-making and mental load

 Even joyful changes can feel overwhelming.

You deserve support that acknowledges both the beauty and the difficulty of this season.

How to know the difference

The difference between baby blues and postpartum mental health conditions

Many parents experience the baby blues, which can include tearfulness, mood swings, irritability, and emotional sensitivity during the first few days after delivery. These symptoms are extremely common and typically improve within about two weeks.

When emotional symptoms are more intense, last longer, or begin interfering with daily life, they may reflect a perinatal mental health condition, such as postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, or postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). These conditions are common and treatable.

Seeking support is a sign of strength

Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders are common

Many people have heard of postpartum depression, but there are several emotional health conditions that can occur during the postpartum period

These include:

·       Postpartum depression

·       Postpartum anxiety

·       Panic attacks

·       Obsessive-compulsive symptoms

·       Scary or disturbing thoughts that won’t go away

·       Birth trauma and postpartum PTSD

·       Adjustment difficulties

·       Grief after a difficult birth or unmet expectations

These conditions are common, treatable, and never a reflection of your love for your child or your ability to be a good parent.

birthing people experience a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder during pregnancy or the first year postpartum 

Howard & Colleagues, 2014

1 in 5

With the right support, recovery is the expectation—not the exception.

Evidence-based perinatal therapy helps most parents feel more like themselves again, reconnect with their families, and move forward with confidence.

Cuijpers, P., Franco, P., Ciharova, M., Miguel, C., Segre, L., Quero, S., & Karyotaki, E. (2023). Psychological treatment of perinatal depression: a meta-analysis. Psychological medicine, 53(6), 2596-2608.
How Therapy can help

The Magnify Approach

Dr. Tessa Kritikos has advanced training in perinatal mental health from Postpartum Support International (PSI). Therapy during the postpartum period can support the tremendous changes you are going through. Whether it’s the baby blues, a postpartum mood and anxiety disorder, or something else, we can work together to create change.

Together, we may work on:

  • Managing anxiety and overwhelming emotions

  • Reconnecting with your values and identity

  • Challenging unhelpful self-criticism or thoughts

  • Building realistic expectations for yourself

  • Strengthening coping skills

  • Improving communication with your partner

  • Navigating changing family roles

  • Processing difficult birth experiences

  • Finding moments of joy and confidence in parenting again

My approach is collaborative, compassionate, and grounded in evidence-based therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Together, we'll build practical skills while honoring the emotions that naturally accompany this life-changing transition.