Becoming a mother is a life-changing experience filled with joy, challenges, and exhaustion. Navigating the postpartum period can feel overwhelming, especially when you're recovering from childbirth, learning to care for a newborn, and adjusting to a new normal. Below are practical, expert-backed tips from seasoned moms and healthcare professionals to help you through this precious yet challenging stage.

Most people would probably prefer not to take any medication during pregnancy or breastfeeding. The concern every parent has when deciding to use medication or not during pregnancy is whether their actions could harm their unborn child. Many also assume giving medication to the birthing parent will harm the fetus. This idea is false and harmful because during pregnancy, mother and fetus are inseparable, otherwise known as a dyad.

The biggest harm with an all-or-nothing approach is this: when medications are stopped, changed, or not started during pregnancy, this can cause mental health issues that result in pregnancy complications.

You are not alone. The majority of our clinicians at Sweetgrass Psychiatry are mothers, and we know it is tough right after having a baby. There is nothing like it and no one can quite prepare you for what to expect. It can be very challenging to determine what is normal after pregnancy vs. postpartum blues vs. postpartum depression. That is what we are here for.

Our very own Dr. Layne Gritti, DO was featured in a national blog published by the American Psychiatric Association discussing the impact of birth trauma on women. Refer to https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/maternal-mental-health-and-birth-trauma to read the entire blog.