Being pregnant, giving birth, and caring for a newborn are all deeply demanding experiences—physically, emotionally, and mentally. Even when there’s joy, the postpartum period can also bring anxiety, depression, and feelings that are hard to name out loud.
If you’re experiencing postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety, support isn’t optional—it’s essential. And building a foundation of resources before you need them can make it easier to reach for help when things feel heavy.
For Maternal Mental Health Week, we’re sharing a collection of resources we return to often for education, validation, and support in the postpartum season.
Podcasts
Momwell: Hosted by psychotherapist Erica Djossa, this podcast teaches strategies to help you cope with the psychological and emotional load of motherhood. We especially love her interviews with other prenatal and postpartum professionals including other psychologists, pediatricians, fertility specialists, lactation consultants, and more.
The Motherly Podcast: Hearing from other moms who have been through what you're going through can be incredibly validating during the 4th trimester and beyond. This podcast taps into those honest conversations about motherhood.
The Hey Girl Podcast: While this podcast isn't lead by a mental health professional, Alex Elle is a beautiful guide into the world of self-care and emotional wellbeing. Her words are uplifting, realistic and applicable to all women.
Online Resources
Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance: This nonprofit is a wealth of resources for advancing health equity. It focuses on initiatives that specifically address racial and economic inequities, striving to ensure that all women and childbearing people are routinely educated about and screened for maternal mental health conditions, as well as have access to quality care.
Postpartum Support International: PSI is the world’s leading organization in advocating and educating about maternal mental health issues and providing support to women and families affected by these illnesses. A few things they offer postpartum mothers include:
- Free weekly call-in and online support sessions.
- Coordinators and/or chapters in all 50 states to provide connections to local resources.
- Peer mentor program, which pairs moms (and dads) in need of support with a trained volunteer who has experienced and fully recovered from a maternal mental health disorder.
- Provider directory of mental health professionals with advanced training in maternal mental health.
Support Groups
PSI Local Support Group Directory: Find in-person and virtual support groups near you
Sesh Online Group Support: Facilitated virtual groups for postpartum support
Online Therapy
Amwell: This is one of the online therapy options that highlights its expertise in diagnosing and treating PPD online with therapy, psychiatry, and/or medication. Plus, it offers access to care seven days a week and accepts insurance.
Rethink My Therapy: PPD can affect not only your mental health, but also your relationship with your partner and family. Rethink My Therapy specializes in treating postpartum depression, but also offers individual, couples, and family therapy, as well as psychiatry.
Instagram Accounts
@drcassidy: Dr. Cassidy Freitas shares relatable, research-backed insights on maternal mental health and the emotional realities of motherhood
@drcarolinedickens: Psychiatrist focused on perinatal mental health, offering education and practical tools for navigating anxiety and postpartum mood disorders
@dralicepsyd: Clinical psychologist specializing in postpartum anxiety and OCD, with accessible, reassuring education and telehealth support in select states
Books
Day Nine by Amanda Munday — A raw, deeply personal memoir exploring postpartum depression and the unexpected emotional realities of new motherhood
Blue by Rachel Moran — A powerful look at the cultural and medical history of postpartum depression, and how it has been understood over time
Then Comes Baby by Jessica Vernon, MD — An honest, compassionate guide to birth, postpartum recovery, and the identity shift into parenthood
