Bringing home a new baby is a life-changing experience, filled with emotional highs and lows. It’s completely normal to feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and even tearful in the days and weeks after giving birth. But how do you know if what you're feeling is part of the typical postpartum adjustment—or a sign of postpartum mood or anxiety disorder, and does it matter?

In this blog post, we’ll explore the differences between postpartum mood and anxiety disorders and more common symptoms of postpartum emotional changes and discuss how to know if you would benefit from support from a perinatal therapist.

Postpartum Adjustment: What’s “Typical”

After over a decade specializing in postpartum mental health, I’d argue that every single postpartum person experiences “symptoms” related to postpartum adjustment. And how could you not. Having a baby is a time of huge emotional transition, physical recovery, hormonal changes, identity shifts and relationships strain. Not to mention lack of sleep.

Navigating the Baby Blues?

For some postpartum people, the primary “adjustment” symptom is what we call “the baby blues.” Affecting up to 80% of new mothers in the first few weeks after childbirth, these mood changes typically start within a few days of delivery and resolve on their own within about two weeks.

Symptoms of the baby blues may include:

Mood swings and tearfulness
Feeling overwhelmed or anxious
Irritability or frustration
Trouble sleeping or concentrating
Mild changes in appetite

How do I know if it’s Something More than Postpartum?

For some postpartum people, symptoms are more persistent, more intense, and more disruptive. This is often a sign of a Postpartum Mood/Anxiety Disorder (PMAD) such as Postpartum depression (PPD) or Postpartum anxiety (PPA). PPD and PPA can develop anytime in the first year after childbirth and require professional treatment as symptoms can interfere with your ability to care for yourself and your baby and can have a long-lasting impact on your mental health.

Symptoms of Postpartum Depression and Postpartum Anxiety Include:

Persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or emptiness
Difficulty bonding with your baby
Loss of interest in things you used to enjoy
Intense irritability, anger, or mood swings
Feelings of guilt, shame, or worthlessness
Severe anxiety or panic attacks
Changes in appetite and sleep that don’t improve with rest
Thoughts of self-harm or feeling like your baby or family would be better off without you
Constant worry about the baby’s health or safety
Intrusive thoughts or mental images
Hypervigilance or difficulty sleeping due to anxiety

How Do I Know If I Need Therapy Postpartum?

You don’t need a formal diagnosis to benefit from therapy, nor do your symptoms need to meet any type of threshold. If something doesn’t feel right, trust that your experience is valid and that support can be helpful either way. Sometimes one or two meetings with a perinatal therapist is all you need, and sometimes, therapy is necessarily. If you are uncertain about whether therapy could be beneficial for you, we always recommend scheduling a consultation with a therapist to talk it through. That’s said, if your symptoms last longer than two weeks, interfere with your daily life, or make it hard to connect with your baby or loved ones, it’s a good idea to reach out for professional support.

How Therapy Can Help Postpartum

A perinatal therapist is trained to understand the nuances of the postpartum experience, to diagnosis and assess for postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, and to provide specialized support. A perinatal therapist can help you to:

Better understand your postpartum experience and provide psychoeducation about postpartum mental health
Manage postpartum mood swings and anxiety
Reconnect with your sense of self and identity
Process your birth story and any trauma
Strengthen relationships and support systems
Explore strategies for rest, self-care, and emotional regulation
Help connect you with other postpartum supports

Therapy can also support partners and non-birthing parents, who may experience their own emotional challenges during the postpartum period.

You Are Not Alone

Whether you’re navigating the baby blues, postpartum depression, or another perinatal mental health concern, support is available. You deserve care, compassion, and support during this transitional time. A perinatal therapist can help you better understand your emotions and take the first steps toward feeling like yourself again.

Looking for postpartum therapy?

Our team at Dr. Emma Basch & Associates is trained in all aspects of perinatal mental health. We provide specialized individual and couples therapy for postpartum clients and offer bespoke “checkup” sessions for clients who aren’t ready to commit to therapy but would like to check in with a specialist.

Contact us to learn more and get support now.

Postpartum Mental Health: What’s “Typical” and How Do I Know If I Need Help