Reproductive and Perinatal Mental Health
Specialized support for individuals navigating fertility, pregnancy, postpartum adjustment, loss, and the complex experiences that can arise along the way.
Common Areas of Focus
Adjustment to Motherhood
Pregnancy & Postpartum Planning
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs)
High Risk Pregnancies
Birth Trauma & PTSD
Twins/Multiples
Pregnancy Loss & Grief
Relationship Challenges
Managing the Mental Load
Termination for Medical Reasons (TFMR)
Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG)
Infertility
Mom Rage & Mom Guilt
Parenting
Childhood Wounds and Trauma
More information:
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About 1 in 8 couples experience infertility or difficulty getting pregnant. The path to parenthood isn’t always straightforward, and for many, trying to conceive comes with unexpected challenges. Fertility treatments and medications, IUI, IVF, the long “two-week wait,” and the disappointment of negative tests month after month can feel like an emotional rollercoaster.
Alongside the medical process often comes a wave of emotions…Hope, grief, anxiety, frustration, and sometimes a deep sense of isolation. Watching others share the joy of pregnancy can be especially painful when you’re left wondering if it will ever be your turn.
This journey can also place strain on relationships. Navigating scheduled intercourse, coping with hormone side effects, and carrying the weight of shared sadness or hopelessness can take a toll. Between Villages offers a space to process these experiences with compassion, to feel less alone, and to find support for both yourself and your relationships during this challenging season.
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Bringing a baby into your life is often imagined as a joyful time, but the reality can feel very different. Many new and expecting parents struggle with Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs), which include depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress, bipolar disorder and psychosis. PMADs can occur during pregnancy or in the first year after birth.
You are not alone. 1 in 5 birthing parents and 1 in 10 partners experience a PMAD. These conditions are the most common complication of pregnancy and postpartum, yet they are often misunderstood or overlooked.
PMADs can bring feelings of sadness, irritability, worry, panic, intrusive thoughts, or a sense of being overwhelmed. Sometimes parents feel guilty or ashamed for not feeling the joy they expected. These symptoms are not your fault and with the right support, you can feel better.
Learn more about PMADs here.
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Planning ahead can help you navigate the postpartum period with more confidence and emotional support.
Postpartum planning sessions focus on preparing for both the practical and emotional aspects of life after birth. Together, we can:
Explore strategies for coping with sleep deprivation, mood changes, and stress.
Identify early signs of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) and plan for timely support.
Discuss realistic expectations around parenting, relationships, and self-care.
Create a support system tailored to your unique needs, including partners, family, and community.
Discuss strategies for healthy boundaries
Planning with a therapist before and after birth can empower you to approach the postpartum period with resilience, awareness, and self-compassion. Early preparation is not only preventive, it can also help you enjoy these early moments of parenthood more fully.
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I know first hand the challenges (and joys) that come along with having multiples. It is truly a unique experience. Navigating a high risk pregnancy, so many medical appointments and screenings, risk after risk after risk. A delivery that is almost always met with extended hospital stays or NICU time. The difficult postpartum period trying to navigate intense levels of exhaustion and adjustment, while juggling feeding schedules, double diapers, and the constant demands of caring for more than one newborn at the same time.
And the community…well that can be hard when it feels like the singleton parents around you are having a very different experience. Parenting twins or multiples often requires extra layers of community and creativity. Together, we can explore resources, strategies, and supports that help lighten the load, while also validating the unique beauty and strength that it takes to be a parent of multiples!
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Experiencing a pregnancy loss can be a deeply painful and isolating experience. Whether it’s a miscarriage, stillbirth, or termination for medical reasons (TFMR), the emotional impact can be profound and complex. Many people feel grief, guilt, sadness, or confusion, and it’s common to struggle with navigating relationships, work, and daily life during this time.
Give yourself time and space to process your emotions, honor your grief, and explore ways to cope, heal, and foster self-compassion after loss.
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Trauma can resurface during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. It can often shape how we respond to stress, form attachments, and view ourselves as parents. During the perinatal period, these earlier wounds may resurface and show up as heightened anxiety, difficulty trusting others, fear around medical settings, or feeling triggered by the intensity of birth and early parenthood.
Reproductive trauma can occur at any stage of the family-building process. This may include infertility, pregnancy loss, termination for medical reasons (TFMR), complicated pregnancies, or medical interventions that feel overwhelming or out of your control.
Birth trauma is also more common than many realize. Research shows that up to 1 in 3 birthing parents experience their delivery as traumatic, whether due to emergency interventions, unexpected complications, loss of control, or feeling unsupported. For some, these experiences may lead to symptoms of post-traumatic stress such as intrusive memories, hypervigilance, or difficulty bonding with the baby.
With compassionate, trauma-informed support, it’s possible to process these experiences and develop healthier coping strategies. Therapy can help break old cycles, regulate the nervous system, and foster a greater sense of safety, connection, and resilience as you step into parenthood.
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Matrescence is the transition a person goes through when becoming a mother. Much like adolescence, it’s a major life stage marked by profound physical, emotional, hormonal, and social changes. During this time, many parents experience shifts in identity, relationships, priorities, and sense of self.
Unlike the more commonly discussed physical aspects of pregnancy and postpartum, matrescence also speaks to the inner experience, the psychological and emotional transformation that happens when you step into parenthood. It can bring joy and fulfillment, but it can also stir up grief, uncertainty, or resurfacing of past wounds.
Acknowledging matrescence helps normalize the ups and downs of this stage. It reminds parents that these changes are not a sign of weakness, but part of a very real developmental process. With support, this transition can become a period of growth, healing, and deeper connection to both self and baby.
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This is a place for all women and all mothers. However you need to show up. Life can feel unbearably heavy at times. Maybe sadness or depression lingers more days than not. Maybe anxiety keeps you awake at night. Perhaps you’re feeling overstimulated, touched out, and carrying the weight of managing it all (household, family, work) and burnout is inevitable.
You might be coming across words like mental load, default parent, or invisible labor and realizing they perfectly describe why you feel so overwhelmed and exhausted.
Together, we can create space to navigate these challenges and find ways not only to get through the days but to feel more grounded, supported, and whole.