Mothers struggle with postpartum mental health challenges

“My second is almost 6m. For most of the day I find my mental health to be decent. A mild undercurrent of anxiety but manageable. What’s worse is I’m finding I’m walking a razors edge and one small thing can fill me with agitation and rage. My dogs existence in general has me fuming. Seeing their hair on the floor and hearing them bark absolutely sets me off. I cry while i vaccum while repeating in my head “I have dogs. I cannot change that.” My four year old got permenant marker on a princess dr”

“Hey all I’m a first time mom so everything that I’ve been going through with my daughter is a learning curve and we are going through it together. I am 4 months post partum and I feel the depression is coming back. I was feeling great months 2-3 and now I feel back to where I was. I am not breast feeding so I thought that would be the only reason I would have another hormone drop but can I still have one? I’m not sure what to feel I guess I just want to feel validated and that it gets better. Si”

“I (28F) have a lengthy history of anxiety and depression that I am usually able to manage well! After my first baby in 2019, I had mild PP depression that quickly resolved with Zoloft. Struggled a bit since, but nothing I couldn’t eventually pull myself out of. I had my second baby in January and it was a really tough pregnancy both psychically and mentally. I did pretty ok right after my baby, I was happy and handling everything well. But my mental health is struggling really bad and I don’t th”

“Hi all, I had a horrible post partum period with baby number one. I had the whole gambit: ppa, ppd, and ppp partially because one of my best friends was essentially murdered the day my daughter was born and I said goodbye to her via FaceTime (I don’t regret that at all). I ended up in the psych ward twice in the first two months of her life (hated every minute of it). Flash forward now, I’m pregnant again, and my husband and my goal this time is that there’s not a repeat. It finally took almost”

“Hello, FTM to a beautiful 11 week baby boy. I feel like my anxiety has been set to 100% and it’s absolutely consuming me. I can’t rest, my head is spinning all day, everyday and I’m creating the worst scenarios in my head. I feel like it was always there but the last couple weeks it’s ramped up to a new level. I find myself just laying in a dark room beside him listening to him breathing, waking at every little noise. Creating scenarios that would never happen but convincing myself they will. I”

“I’m 5 months PP as a FTM and at least 4x a week, I have these episodes of intense rage. In the past, it’s been triggered by my baby nonstop crying. Or my husband will leave his shit laying around when I’m already overstimulated. Or I’m in the middle of cooking and my baby is whining for me while my husband plays video games. Or when our two dogs start barking and wake up my daughter from her nap. When these episodes happen, I start to see red and usually I will start crying because I’m so angry”

“Hello! I’ve got an almost 9 month old baby boy whom I adore (and was very much planned), but I have been really struggling with PPA/PPD for the last few months (weirdly I was ok the first 4 months or so and it hit me later). For context, I’m not currently on medication, I tried Zoloft for a month but had horrendous side effects (I’ve now been off it for just over 2 weeks), but am contemplating trying another medication awaiting a consultation with a psychiatrist. Essentially, my thoughts fall in”

“So my daughter is 18 months now and for the last few weeks, I’ve been really struggling with my mental health. We’re at a tricky stage where it seems like we’ve got the troublesome twos early… constant screaming matches and fighting literally everything. My parents actually took her an extra night this week, they take her every Monday but took her Sunday night too just to give me a break. I just find myself unable to cope with how she’s being and the slightest thing is setting me off in tears an”

“I am 10 months postpartum and reflecting and writing down my experience, as I feel stuck and traumatized still, but am comparing myself to others and where I "should be" and basically gaslighting myself. Husband's mom says to essentially move on, what's done is done, and baby is healthy—that it was "hard for everyone," not just me, so why hold on to it? But I am struggling to. My story: Overall healthy pregnancy, with a small subchorionic hemorrhage at 7 weeks pregnan”

“It's hard to keep up with laundry while pp and breast feeding and it's also more difficult to feel comfortable leaving the house while ebf and having these knockers on my chest and a noisy baby as well as lack of the clothing that keeps me covered/boobs controlled. I feel this is a double whammy for me as to why I feel this way because I think it's because my in laws would pick at my every move as a mom so having a loud noisy baby (he will get very upset if he is handed off to too ma”

“I suffered badly with post partum depression for the first 6 months of my babies life. I’m only just now starting to feel a little bit better. Now that I’m coming out of the fog I’m really worried that my mental health has affected my ability to bond with my baby. The sleep deprivation drove me almost to insanity. I’m a single parent with very little support. Definitely don’t have a village. My baby seems very happy and smiley so I’d like to believe that my PPD hasn’t had any long term effects b”

“Hey there! I’m a newly PP mom who had a challenging/high-risk pregnancy, traumatic delivery 10 weeks early and my son just came home from the NICU. I was always 50/50 on whether I cared to have kids, very career-driven and had a busy lifestyle (that I loved). I’m now deep in the PP trenches (baby hates the bassinet, sleep deprivation on our end) with diagnosed PPD/PPA and can’t stop feeling like I may have regretted having a kid. I do love him and my husband has been an angel through all this, I”

“Even if it was years later, I’m curious how many people who dealt with ppd did or didn’t go on to have another kid. How did you feel about your decision? submitted by /u/Acceptable-Bed3686 [link] [comments]”

“Hi all. I have a 17 month old and am 8 weeks pregnant with our second. We just moved out of a rental to a bigger beautiful house, I’m a SAHM (have been since having my first), my husband is an extremely active father and gives me so many opportunities for breaks. We even have a Y membership and I use the childcare a few times a week to workout. By all accounts, I should be so content with my life. Instead I feel ungrateful and unfulfilled. I’m short tempered with my toddler, I feel like I’m fail”

“My wife and I gave birth to our amazing beautiful son 8 months ago. It’s been an incredible journey for both of us but extremely hard. Our baby had severe colic/GERD symptoms up until about a month and a half ago, which was challenging on its own. On top of that, our mutual best friend died from a car crash a month into post partum. Our mental health has been extremely up and down, thankfully I’ve started to find a bit more emotional stability the past couple months but she is continuing to stru”

“I am 7.5 months postpartum and have struggled with some PPA/PPD. It often just feels like this weird little nagging/anxious feeling that I cannot shake. There’s not even any specific thoughts behind this feeling most of the time. I’ve tried to explain it to my therapist and some friends who have kids and no one has really experienced this specific feeling. When I was freshly postpartum I had the impending doom feeling and it’s a little like that just on a much smaller scale. Has anyone experienc”

“It’s hard not to compare my LO and postpartum journey when I see moms and babies pop up on my feed. I started therapy for PPD/PPA and my therapist recommended following mom creators that can make me laugh and make relatable content instead of the “I lost all my pregnancy weight right after delivering my baby” or “my little one slept for 12 hour stretches the moment I brought them home.” Both experiences are valid but not anything I can relate to at the moment. Who are your favorite creators on i”

“I’m 9 months PP and gosh I just hate my body. It’s so hard to stay motivated and follow through on working out. And I feel safe to say that I think most people started out this way at sooner point in their lives. Please give me anything that helped you!! I can’t sit with myself like this anymore! I’ve always wanted to be consistent in working out but I never stick with it This is for working out and any supplements or specific diets that helped? submitted by /u/Lonely-Rutabaga477 [li”

“I wanted to share my story— not sure if it will resonate with someone else. I’m almost 14 months out and have finally come out on the other side. I’ve realized that I struggled a lot because of breastfeeding and I don’t hear people talk about this much— often breastfeeding is looked at as a protective measure for PPD. For me, it made things so hard. I exclusively breastfed until 10 months and overall had a good journey. He latched well, fed well, and my supply was generally good (outside of some”

“I feel like my PPA/OCD has taken a unique twist on the worried “will my baby get hurt” thoughts. In my mind, I know my baby is safe, happy, fed, taken care of, and loved. She spends her days being nursed whenever she wants, taking contact naps, getting kisses and hugs, and being played with. My intrusive thoughts don’t take shape in worrying about her. Instead, I have these horrible, intrusive thoughts about all the babies out there who aren’t getting treated well (I won’t go into specifics abou”

“Has anyone experienced this? How do I know when to seek help? I’m 9 months postpartum and was fortunate to skate through the first few months without PPD or PPA outside of baby blues immediately after. Pre-baby I was a very level headed person that never got overly emotional no matter the situation. I was able to communicate in a way that was calm and productive. In the last month/month and a half, I feel like I can’t even recognize myself. It’s never directed at my LO, only my husband which is”

“My baby is 8 weeks and I just started feeling PP rage. I need “unhinged” tips for handling it. Yes I’m on Lexapro, yes I’m in therapy. I’m actually a therapist myself so I know all the basic coping skills - deeps breaths, walk away, drink water, etc. I’m talking to my partner a lot and have great support from a ton of people. BUT I want to hear all the random, silly, unique, crazy things you did that helped PP rage beyond the basic stuff. submitted by /u/Relevant_Lynx_5117 [link] &#3”

“My wife and I just had our second child 4 months ago, and since then she has clearly been showing signs of PPD. She refuses to address these problems with her therapist, and instead focuses on other issues. The problem for me, is that I've also been left to do everything involving the children for the last 2 months, in addition to working full time and taking care of all the household duties for the last 3 years. I'm hitting a point where I'm getting seriously burnt out, and deeply r”

“hey ladies, I'm 25 years old and 5 months post partum. Ive been struggling with my body image as I haven't been feeling like myself, I feel like I lost my spark. Before pregnancy I'd dress up and do my makeup and actually feel pretty, now I just feel like a pig with lipstick. I try to gaslight myself into feeling pretty because I don't want to sit in negativity but it's really hard especially because my appearance always meant a lot to me. submitted by /u/muffyxo_”

submitted by /u/helpa-galout [link] [comments]

“hello all. to start off am 15 weeks postpartum I see a therapist 2x a month. I started my post partum with very bad depression “baby blues” after a stay in the NICU. it eventually transformed to PPA. I was feeling better and then all of a sudden it transformed into ocd. specially I gef cyclical thoughts around religion I think because I want to protecg the baby and myself from harm which result is just anxiety and it’s manifesting itself as a compulsion to say how much I love god in my head 2000”

“I’m not sure if I’m just not fit to be a mom but it feels like every stage is harder than the last. I’m mad at myself because I was struggling so hard with PPD in the beginning and now it seems like those days were so much simpler. Now my baby is teething, fussy, mad because I pick him up, mad because I put him down, he can’t crawl yet but wants to. I’m not sure if anyone else feels this way. My baby is 9 months old submitted by /u/This_Obligation_5125 [link] [comments]”

“I've been home with my kids for almost four years now and somewhere in there I just stopped thinking about what I put on. Like it went from "I'll get back to it" to "this is just who I am now" and I didn't even notice the shift. Leggings, a nursing tank I haven't nursed in since 2022, and one of maybe four oversized tees. That's it. That's the rotation. The thing that got me was my oldest asked me why I don't wear "pretty clothes" like he”

“TW: PPD, body image/weight discussion I was around 133 lbs and pretty fit before my first pregnancy. I only gained 27 lbs while pregnant, but breastfeeding + PPD led me to gain weight postpartum and I got up to 168. I had pretty severe body image issues because of it. I’m 14.5 months PP now and around 150. We’re thinking of TTC again around 16–17 months PP, and I can probably lose another 5–6 lbs before then. Should I bother trying to lose the remaining 10–12 lbs before TTC, or just go for it? I”

“I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m one year postpartum now. I feel like my whole life I’ve done everything to try to help myself, and now things feel extra hard. I have a therapist, but I don’t feel like it’s helping or like I can even say anything and get support. I’ve tried reaching out to PSI but the resource they gave me for my area- the website to it is wrong and I’ve sought out a psychiatrist but it isn’t covered by our insurance because the deductible is high. My husband tries to suppor”

“I’m feeling so low lately. There are good days but the evenings are almost always difficult. I feel like I’m slowly going down a hole that I won’t be able to get out of. My husband helps a lot and i still dont feel rested, I feel restless. I’ve also been gluing myself to the social media lately which is bad but i couldnt get off it. The more I do the less i have time to think about all of these but I really dont feel like I have the energy for it submitted by /u/Snoo_8431 [link] &#32”

“Guys, help. I need some guidance. I gave birth to my first son in 2020 and developed pretty bad PPD and anxiety after the whole covid lockdown thing. I tried all the natural things for my severe insomnia, and went to a doc that put me on benzes/ssri's/antipsychotics to help with sleep. Safe to say, they made me worse, I got kindled, and it took me 1.5 years to taper off and was a hot mess the whole way through, had to move closer to family, etc. At the end of my taper I got Covid and was so”

“i have really struggled with my mental health since becoming a mom. Im at a point where i cant function anymore or do anything. im exhausted most of the time and i cant snap out of it. Im seeing my psychiatrist later this month and i want to be honest abojt some of these thoughts ive had about not wanting tk be alive anymore. But im scared this could result in me looking unfit as a mother and gettjng my child taken away. Truthfully at this point i want help more than anything even if it means ne”

“I’m 8 months postpartum and feeling scared that my postpartum depression or anxiety might be coming back. Around 3 months postpartum, I was diagnosed with PPD and started 25 milligrams of Zoloft. It helped a lot. But over the last few weeks my anxiety’s been climbing again, and what scares me most is the rage. I get so angry with my husband and sometimes when my baby cries and I can’t figure it out, this overwhelming anger wells up. I never act on it. I step away when I need to, but feeling that”

“Hi everyone, I have fallen down the rabbit hole of PPP because of the highly publicized LC case. I have watched two different documentaries about it and PPD/PPA and both mentioned women going into psychosis only after stopping their breastfeeding journey. This hits home for me because I had a wonderful pregnancy and first year, truly blissful. However when I stopped BF things got kind of weird. I had a lot of paranoia and developed PMDD, which still continues to mess with me every month. Does an”

“For any parents that experienced postpartum depression who planned for baby number 2, or expanding your family beyond what you already had, how did you navigate this process? I have a pretty comprehensive history of mental health issues, also diagnosed with C-PTSD, Bipolar and PPD 8 months postpartum. My son is 16 months old now and is a handful, but the greatest joy. My husband is also an exceptional support and my mental health is doing significantly better. We have talked about trying for num”

“I’m struggling with my new body after have my 2nd. I still look second trimester pregnant. Although I am now implementing working out + dieting, it’s a very slow process, and I can’t keep hiding in my house anymore. I have been avoiding clothes shopping, I think I feel that if I buy clothes that fit me now, I’m accepting the fact that this is really just who I am now, and that’s been a hard pill to swallow. Anyway. What are we wearing that isn’t totally bummy, yet also flattering? Specifically f”

“Help! I’m 5 months postpartum and returning to work soon and I’m feeling sad trying on my old clothes. I’d like to buy a few pieces for my wardrobe to go back feeling confident but I’m at a loss of where to shop. Would prefer online. I had a whole order in my cart at Quince but then was reading all these bad reviews on poor quality. I had a few silk blouses, sweaters, maxi skirt, a dress, and pair of jeans in my cart to give an idea of what I’m looking for. I work in a business casual environmen”

“Hello! Hoping this reaches some mamas who have been through this. Ive got a 7.5 mo and I’ve been suffering from PPA/PPD for a few months and have only just taken the plunge to start medication (sertraline) after having been seeing a therapist since baby was 4.5 months and the sleep regression really kicked my anxiety up a notch. The anxiety is basically around sleep (I get so stressed around every nap and night time not knowing how long my baby will sleep for as it’s been up and down recently).”

“Hello!! I had a baby a year and a half ago and have been dealing with postpartum issues for over a year.. I’ve been on plenty of psych meds, admitted myself, done TMS therapy, ERP therapy, etc. I decided to go down the rabbit hole of my hormones as my last effort to resolve these issues. I’m so tired that it’s literally making me feel suicidal. I received results via saliva test during my luteal for progesterone, estradiol, testosterone and cortisol. Progesterone <5 with range of 66-198 Estra”

“Hi everyone! I need some advice particularly from moms who had kiddos back-to-back. Here’s my story: (Fro context, I am currently about 10 months postpartum with my second child.) At the end of my first pregnancy I weighed approximately 155–160 lbs and was physically active, particularly with swimming. With my first, I weighed approximately 198 lbs at delivery. With my doctor’s approval, I introduced solid foods to my son at approximately 4 months postpartum. My first postpartum menstrual period”

“I was literally fine, actually happier than ever. My baby starts daycare in a week, I go back to work in 3 (which is earlier than I thought I would have to). And now I have to look for another job because the company is closing in 6 months. I hate my city but I’m stuck because my fiance has other children here. My parents live 10hrs away so we have no help or babysitter. We’re broke and our apartment is leaking water through the ceiling and roaches have suddenly appeared after 2 years here with”

“I’ve been on Zoloft for 4 years at a steady dosage. I am currently almost 2 months postpartum with my second child. Anxiety and anger (sudden out bursts) seems a little worse than with my first child, maybe because there’s more going on with a toddler plus the newborn. Has anyone had experience with upping (temporarily?) their SSRI during the postpartum period? Then did you return to a previous dosage? If so, how did you know or when did you reduce it? My therapist is the one who suggested that”

“Hi so I am solo parenting mostly and don't have half the resources Lyndsey Clancy had. I am an immigrant with no family, no income and so on. I do have depression at times and experience stress but never even once I thought of harming my kids. That's because deep in my mind I know I wanted kids. My coping mechanism had been going out to parks etc. that help a lot with socialization and relaxation (Thankfully I live in a city). My husband has been following Lyndsey Clancy because of the t”

“I have a history with depression and anxiety before I had my son but I feel like I’m still really struggling with PPD/PPA even though he’s almost 2. We don’t have a village of support and when I have brought up my feelings to a couple loved ones it’s kind of pushed aside (tbh not sure what can be said anyways). Why do I feel like I shouldn’t say I’m struggling with it? Anyone still struggle close to 2 years postpartum? We are relocating closer to family and I’m sure that’ll help in some ways but”

“Hey all - Ive had PPD since I gave birth 12 weeks ago. It immediately ramped up for me. I am now at the point where I do not want to interact with my baby at all. I have been handling her a little rough at times and immediately call my husband to take her when I feel like myself getting angry at her. It just really ramped up for me these past few weeks. We are having some feeding issues with her. Shes having a very low intake daily between 10-16 oz only. She js gaining weight luckily and growing”

“I’m convinced the PPD, PPA, and postpartum OCD is very underdiagnosed. Almost every mom I’ve met can relate to having intrusive thoughts, insomnia, severe anxiety, depression, and worse. How many moms truly did not experience this? If you did experience it, when did you get better? What helped to make you better? I’d love to hear your stories! submitted by /u/throwra-positive [link] [comments]”

“Trigger warning: For context, I have been diagnosed with PTSD, MPPD and MPPA. Today is the one year anniversary of going into labor I was in labor for 36 hours before a C-Section was required. This past week l leading up to this weekend has been rough, but today feels unbearable. To make matters worse, today is my birthday and everyone expects me to be happy and excited, but I keep having panic and anxiety attacks and the flashbacks are just making it so much worse. I genuinely do not know what”

“hey guys, i’ve been really stressing myself out recently about the very real possibility of developing severe PPD after this baby is born. i had mild-moderate PPD with my first baby (born Dec 2023). i was still functional but definitely having a heard time for a good bit of time. after my second baby (born June 2025), i developed severe PPD. during maternity leave, i heavily contemplated abandoning my baby at the hospital/fire station/safe haven box every day as well as taking extreme measures a”

“This is a weird “issue”. Definitely a first world problem. I’m 9 months post partum and 34 years old. I finally figured out my personal style and got to my goal weight after years and years of yo yo dieting. I was loving getting dressed and did a bunch of shopping (spent lots of $) only to go through IVF and gain all the weight back and then of course lots more through pregnancy. After 3 years of infertility I am and was more than grateful for my beautiful baby girl and have loved being her mom”

“I’ve been following the Lindsay Clancy case, and regardless of where anyone stands on this specifically or what the verdict ends up being, I keep coming back to the larger conversation about postpartum mental health and what support for mothers actually looks like in this country. I’ve experienced firsthand how different that support can be depending on nothing more than where you happen to live. My first child was born when I lived in California. The maternity and disability benefits available”

“I’m (30F) 24w pregnant with my 2nd and struggling so much with my mental health this pregnancy. I’ve always struggled with anxiety/depression/adhd but it seems to be significantly worse this pregnancy. I’m working full time & parenting a high energy 3 year old this time around but I can’t seem to get past my intrusive thoughts and debilitating fatigue. I truly have no desire to do anything but sleep right now. I feel like I’m drowning in responsibilities and can’t keep up with life. My husba”

“Hello everyone, I'm 7 months postpartum with baby #4. I’ve been struggling with very physical symptoms of anxiety since 4-6 weeks postpartum. Started out with a “manageable” panic attack during a pedicure (which I dismissed as low blood sugar) then later on at 6 weeks postpartum a full blown panic attack that lead me to the ER thinking something was terribly wrong. This has lead to a long road of recovery. Insomnia, dizziness, racing thoughts, anxiety, depression, impending doom, digestive i”

“TW: Lindsay Clancy Trial The trial is in my home state, and while I have tried to not follow it, it’s all people talk about at work, and it’s on social media and local news so it’s hard to avoid. I’m one year PP and struggled with PPD and PPA. Some days I still don’t feel like myself but a year later it’s better than it was at 4 or 5 months! This is a tragedy, and while I do think the husband is a sketchy character who contributed to her mental health decline, I know that PPD/PPA/PPP is very com”