How Therapy Can Benefit Your Pregnancy Journey

Big news, you’re pregnant! Your mind might be running through lots of to-dos for you to focus on in the next nine months: get set up with a medical provider, buy maternity clothes, set up your nursery, pick out names… all that fun stuff! But, does your pregnancy journey include therapy? If that’s not at the forefront of your mind- totally normal- and, allow me to share some ways that therapy can support you along this life-changing journey.

Growing your family is one of the most significant life changes you’ll experience

Having a baby means that your life is going to change- big time! Whether it’s your first baby or your third, your family is about to embark on some major transformation. Working with a therapist who specializes in pregnancy and parenthood can give you the support you need throughout this life transition.

Therapy can help you to process your pregnancy

People enter pregnancy from a variety of different places. Maybe you’ve been intentionally planning for this next step for years. Or, maybe this pregnancy is a complete surprise. A therapist can help you to wrap your head around that positive pregnancy test, explore all of your options, and find peace and acceptance on the road ahead.

Even for those who have been hoping to become pregnant, actually being pregnant can be a lot to adjust to. It makes sense that your first positive pregnancy sparks some fear, overwhelm, or confusion. A perinatal therapist can help normalize the complicated emotions you may be feeling and support you in the goals you have for yourself during this pregnancy.

Therapy can help you navigate your experiences during pregnancy

Pregnancy is no easy experience. In the first trimester, most people feel sick, exhausted, and just not like themselves. You may be wanting to feel happy and excited about this new venture, yet you struggle to even get out of bed. At your regular doctor’s appointments, you’re going to hear a lot of “Oh that’s completely normal, nothing to worry about”. Which, maybe normalizes your experience, but doesn’t give you the support that you are needing.

A therapist can help you to validate and honor the experiences you’re going through in pregnancy- even when they are not the experiences you want to have. Often, when we hold space for what feels difficult, it becomes a little lighter and easy to manage. In therapy, you can hold space for everything you’re experiencing- and gain the tools to help you mentally and emotionally navigate it.

Therapy can help you tend to mental health symptoms that show up

Without the space to process it, you may not notice the anxiety, depression, or other mental health symptoms that can show up in pregnancy. Not only are you going through a major life change, but your hormones are drastically different right now. Because of this, it’s common to struggle with our mental health during pregnancy or postpartum.

A therapist can help you look out for symptoms, process what’s showing up, and give you the tools and skills you need right now. Therapy can help you to manage anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns during pregnancy (as well as postpartum!) so that they don’t take over this experience for you.

Therapy can help you prepare for your birth experience

Sometime around the third trimester it hits… “I’m actually going to have to birth this baby?!” While nobody can 100% plan how their birth is going to go, having a plan for the supports you may need along the way can help you to feel much more at ease.

You’ll likely talk with your doctor ahead of time about what options will be available to you as well as what to expect based on the level of risk of your pregnancy. In therapy, you can discuss those options and prepare for how to advocate for yourself when you need to. This may include preparing some scripts ahead of time or working with your partner or other support people who can help advocate to your medical team when you’re giving birth.

Preparing for your birth experience also includes thinking about what will be mentally and emotionally supportive for you. This includes coping skills or breathing exercises that you can use at the hospital, planning for who you want nearby for support (as well as who you might want extra boundaries for), identifying what comfort items you want to bring, and setting some intentions or self-talk statements to support you along the way.

Sometimes, just talking through what you’re feeling and what you need with someone dedicated to holding that space for you is just what you need!

Therapy can help you prepare for postpartum

Bringing baby home can be a wild ride! Nobody’s getting enough sleep, you’re figuring out the best way to feed baby, the laundry and dishes are starting to pile up, and- you’re wrapping your head around how this new little human fits into your household.

Planning ahead with a therapist can help you to set some initial intentions for yourself, work with your partner to set a flexible balance of responsibilities (and help you to have conversations around this as things need to be adjusted!), as well as build some coping skills to help you navigate the overwhelm of these early weeks. Having an idea of what to expect and thinking through some things you may need can help you to adjust to this major change so much smoother.

Therapy can help you get a support system set up

They say it takes a village- and they’re not wrong! Getting through pregnancy, postpartum, and parenthood requires support. But, it’s not as simple as expecting the village to show up.

Often, we have to let others know what we need. Whether it be our partner, our own parents/family members, friends, or neighbors- taking time to reflect on what we need and allowing ourselves to ask it is what helps us to build the village we need. Asking for help can be hard for many, and a therapist can give you the tools that you need to start these conversations!

Sometimes the support we need comes in professional support. Your therapist of course is one of your professional supports! And, your therapist can also help you make decisions around the other forms of professional support you may seek- such as lactation support, physical therapy, support groups, or parenting classes. Your therapist is likely well-connected in this community and can give you some great recommendations along the way!

Having a trusted therapist throughout pregnancy means that you already have someone in place for the support needs that come later

The day your baby is born is not the day that all things are wrapped up- in fact, this is the start of a new season of life. Postpartum and parenthood can bring up a lot of needs for support- and already having a therapist on board means that it’s going to be that much easier for you to get your needs met.

Therapy can help you process your birth experience

Giving birth is major! Whether your birth experience went according to plan, included major birth plan changes, held moments of trauma, or had any level of intervention- you have a story to tell. Processing your birth experience can be so important to do with your therapist. There were likely many important emotions that are still lingering and need some space.

Talking through what showed up for you, getting support around the tough moments, and celebrating the joyful moments is something any new parent deserves. Your therapist can help you hold space and make sense of it all. And- you likely have an ongoing recovery experience that your therapist can support you in too!

Therapy can help you process your postpartum experience

Getting to know your tiny new human, figure out how to take care of them, and learning how to function along the way is… a lot. Having regular check-ins with your therapist to process what’s going on in your postpartum experience can help you to actually allow space for what’s going on for you.

By talking through your postpartum experience with a therapist, you can hold space for your emotions, build coping skills to help you navigate the overwhelm, identify when additional supports are needed, and be present in this significant yet short-term period of your life.

Therapy can help you unpack the tough stuff that shows up in parenthood

The bumps that we run into in parenthood often hit at some wounds that we may have been pushing down for a while. A breastfeeding journey that didn’t go according to plan may hit on a wound that tells you “you’re not doing enough”. A middle of the night fight with your partner may hit on a wound that says “you’re not deserving of love”. That overflowing laundry bin may hit on a wound that says “you’re not worthy if you’re not perfect.”

Parenthood lets us know what stories we still need to unpack. Therapy can help you hold space for the internal messages that might be keeping things heavy- and help you create new and more supportive narratives. Not only is this healing so important for you, but it is also healing that you get to pass along to your family.

Therapy can help you hold space for yourself

Parenthood can make it hard, and sometimes even impossible, to find space for us. We may get so tied up in all of our duties and responsibilities that we forget to tend to our basic needs- and certainly don’t tend to the extra things that bring us joy.

A therapist can help you find space for you. Little moments where you can care for your needs. As well as those bigger moments where you can come into this new version of you that is becoming. Growing your family is a major life transition- and while you’re still you- you are likely changing too. You deserve a therapist to support you along that journey.

You deserve support- and we’re here to help!

At Minnesota Attachment Collective, not only do we love supporting folks through pregnancy and postpartum- we specialize in it! We have the training and experience needed to help you navigate the road ahead. You get to move forward with the support you need- every step of the way.

We offer individual and couples therapy, both in-person at our Eagan, MN office location, as well as virtual for anyone located in Minnesota. Learn more about our providers here- where you can also book a free 15-minute consultation to see if we feel like a good fit for you!