I offer pregnancy and postnatal support to individuals and couples, where through engaging, encouraging sessions you can gain the confidence and understanding in order to appreciate life with your baby and the journey into parenthood. This journey is a unique and life changing one and yet sometimes the challenges encountered along the way can provoke a mixture of emotions, some of which may be hard to identify or even make sense of.
Perhaps you are finding the experience richly rewarding and exciting but lack the time and space to talk in a relaxed, baby-friendly and informal space. Perhaps you would simply like more advice, reassurance and a chance to meet others and share stories?
Having a baby is a big life event. It’s natural to experience a range of emotions during pregnancy and after giving birth. But if any difficult feelings start to have a big effect on your day-to-day life, you might be experiencing a perinatal mental health problem.
You may want the opportunity to be heard, to explore thoughts, feelings and fears or look at new ways to find perspective, gain self-assurance and the possibility of making new, emotionally-secure choices. I also offer telephone counselling. Everything discussed is treated in the strictest confidence. I am committed to working with expectant and new parents in providing the emotional and psychological tools to meet your needs and the needs of your baby.
- The emotional and physiological challenges of pregnancy.
- Fear of labour.
- Mood swings and hormone fluctuations.
- Baby sleep settling and routines.
- Attachment and bonding,
- Interpreting the language of the newborn.
- Relationship and identity changes.
If you have experienced a mental health problem during or after a previous pregnancy, there is more risk of you becoming unwell again. But this doesn’t mean you definitely will. If you became unwell during a previous pregnancy, you might worry about having another baby. But you may feel more confident about how to look after yourself. And you may know how to spot any signs that you are becoming unwell. If you do become pregnant again, it’s important to talk to your doctor about how you can look after your mental health. You should also think about what kind of support you might need.