Postpartum and Perinatal Therapy in Calgary

Everyone is asking about the baby. Nobody is asking about you.

Free 15-minute consults are usually booked within 24 hours. Not a waitlist, not a callback queue. Nothing showing within 48 hours? Call or text 780-288-2074 or email info@truepaththerapy.ca and we will find you a time.

Pregnancy and the first year after birth can bring worry that won't switch off, a low you didn't expect, or thoughts that scare you. None of that makes you a bad mother. We offer therapy through pregnancy and the postpartum year, in person in Kensington or online from home. That matters when leaving the house with a newborn is a project.

How common is postpartum depression or anxiety?

It's more common than most people are told. In Statistics Canada's 2018/2019 Survey on Maternal Health, 23% of mothers reported feelings consistent with postpartum depression or an anxiety disorder, nearly one in four (Statistics Canada). In Alberta, these symptoms are often first raised with a family doctor, a midwife or a public health nurse.

If you're struggling, you are not the exception in your mom group. You may just be the one saying it.

Is it the baby blues, or something more?

The baby blues are tearfulness and mood swings in the first days after birth, and they usually ease within about two weeks. It's worth getting support if low mood, worry, numbness or irritability lasts longer, gets worse, or makes it hard to care for yourself. Start with your doctor or midwife, call Health Link at 811, or book a consult with us.

Postpartum depression doesn't always look sad. It can look like rage over small things, feeling like a stranger to your baby, or not being able to sleep even when the baby does.

I'm having thoughts that frighten me. Is that normal?

Unwanted, intrusive thoughts about harm coming to the baby are common. In a British Columbia study led by UBC psychologist Nichole Fairbrother, 44% of postpartum mothers reported unwanted thoughts of intentionally harming their infant (Fairbrother et al., 2022). A thought you find horrifying is not the same as wanting it. Often the horror is the sign that it's an intrusive thought.

If saying it out loud feels impossible, that's okay too. Nothing you've thought will be new to us, and our first response is to understand, not to alarm you.

When it is an emergency: Rarely, in the weeks after birth, a person can develop confusion, hallucinations, or beliefs that don't fit reality. That is postpartum psychosis, and it is a medical emergency. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

What can I get help with?

• Postpartum depression and anxiety, and intrusive thoughts.

• Pregnancy anxiety, including pregnancy after loss.

• Fertility treatment and the waiting.

• A hard birth that keeps replaying.

• Identity shifts (matrescence), and missing the person you were before.

• Relationship strain with a partner, and family expectations, including from extended family.

• Going back to work, or deciding not to.

• Adjusting to a second or third child.