Maternal Mental Health Month Is a Reminder You’re Not Alone
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are common, treatable, and misunderstood.
Posted May 7, 2026 | Reviewed by Margaret Foley
May is Maternal Mental Health Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness about the emotional challenges that can arise during pregnancy and postpartum.
While new motherhood is often portrayed as joyful and fulfilling, many women quietly struggle during this transition. They may feel anxious, emotionally overwhelmed, disconnected, irritable, or unlike themselves in ways they did not anticipate.
And often, they feel alone in it.
One of the reasons Maternal Mental Health Month matters is that it helps expand the conversation beyond postpartum depression and reminds women that there are many ways emotional suffering can show up during the perinatal period.
These experiences are common. They are treatable. And they are not a reflection of someone’s love for their baby or ability to be a good parent.
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) are mental health conditions that can occur during pregnancy and throughout the postpartum period.
Many people have heard of postpartum depression , but PMADs also include postpartum anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post- traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ), bipolar disorder , and postpartum psychosis .
The transition into motherhood involves enormous physical, hormonal , relational, and identity shifts. Sleep deprivation, medical complications, fertility struggles, birth trauma, feeding difficulties, lack of support, and prior mental health history can all affect emotional well-being during this time.
For many women, the struggle is not just hormonal. It is the collision of vulnerability, responsibility, exhaustion, and profound life change all at once.
Postpartum Depression Is Only Part of the Picture
Postpartum depression is one of the more widely recognized PMADs, affecting approximately 1 in 7 women. It can involve sadness, hopelessness, irritability, guilt , emotional numbness, difficulty bonding , or loss of interest in things that once felt meaningful. But not everyone experiences postpartum distress as depression.
Some women primarily experience anxiety. Their minds feel constantly “on,” scanning for danger or worst-case scenarios. Others experience panic attacks, racing thoughts, or difficulty sleeping , even when given the opportunity to rest.
Some women experience intrusive thoughts—unwanted, distressing thoughts about harm coming to the baby. These thoughts can feel terrifying, especially for women who have never experienced them before. What is important to understand is that intrusive thoughts are often ego-dystonic, meaning they conflict with the person’s values and intentions. In other words, the thoughts feel upsetting precisely because the parent does not want them.
Many women suffer silently out of fear that disclosing these thoughts means something dangerous about them. In reality, postpartum OCD and intrusive thoughts are highly treatable.
When Birth Itself Becomes Traumatic
Maternal Mental Health Month also offers space to acknowledge birth trauma. Childbirth can involve fear, medical emergencies, loss of control, or moments when someone feels unheard or unsafe. Even when a healthy baby is delivered, the experience itself may leave a lasting emotional impact. Some women develop symptoms of postpartum PTSD, including flashbacks, hypervigilance, nightmares, avoidance, or emotional numbness after delivery. Others simply feel emotionally changed by what happened.
One of the most difficult parts of birth trauma is that many women minimize their own suffering because they believe they should “just be grateful.”
But trauma and gratitude can coexist.
You Do Not Have to Wait Until Things Feel Severe
One of the misconceptions about maternal mental health is that someone must be in crisis before seeking support. In reality, early support can make a significant difference. You do not have to wait until you are completely depleted to deserve care.
Support may be helpful if you find yourself feeling persistently overwhelmed, anxious, emotionally disconnected, hopeless, unable to rest, or consumed by intrusive thoughts.
Working with a therapist trained in perinatal mental health can help you better understand what you are experiencing within the context of pregnancy, postpartum adjustment, identity shifts, and nervous system overwhelm.
Sometimes the most healing thing is realizing that what you are experiencing is understandable—and that you are not the only one.
Maternal Mental Health Deserves More Conversation
Maternal Mental Health Month is not just about awareness. It is about reducing shame . Too many women believe they are failing because motherhood does not feel the way they expected it would.
But struggling emotionally during pregnancy or postpartum does not make you weak, broken, or ungrateful. It makes you human.
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Carissa Gustafson, PsyD , teaches at Pepperdine University, Graduate School of Education and Psychology, and is the author of Reclaim Your Life: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.