Perinatal Mental Health Matters: Why Support for Mothers, Fathers, and Families Cannot Wait

By Dr. Lizette Solis, PhD, LCPC

Pregnancy, birth, and the transition into parenthood are often described as joyful milestones. They can be and they can also bring profound physical, emotional, relational, and psychological changes.

For some parents, the experience includes anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, trauma symptoms, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, overwhelming stress, grief, or changes in mood and perception that require professional support.

Perinatal mental health is family mental health.

And seeking help is not a sign that someone is failing as a parent. It is an important act of care.

The Lindsay Clancy Case: A Tragic Reminder of Why Perinatal Mental Health Support Matters

The ongoing trial of Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three young children in January 2023, has brought postpartum mental illness into the national conversation.

Today, Clancy’s trial underscores the importance of perinatal mental health support, collaborative care between a treatment team and the value of social supports for a growing family. This case raises an important mental-health question:

What happens when a perinatal mental health crisis becomes severe and the systems around a parent do not recognize, understand, or respond to the warning signs quickly enough?

Reports presented during the trial have described symptoms and concerns including suicidal thinking, severe distress, insomnia, fears related to parenting, medication changes, and online searches related to psychosis and suicide. 

It is a reminder that perinatal mental health requires vigilance, specialized knowledge, early intervention, and collaboration.

It also reminds us that someone can appear functional, loving, capable, or “put together” while experiencing a serious psychiatric crisis.

Perinatal Mental Health Affects More Than Mothers

Perinatal mental health conversations have historically centered primarily on mothers. Mothers absolutely need specialized support and they are not the only people whose mental health can be affected by pregnancy and early parenthood.

Partners and fathers can experience depression, anxiety, trauma, sleep disruption, relationship stress, identity changes, and feelings of inadequacy or isolation. Postpartum Support International notes that approximately 1 in 5 mothers and 1 in 10 fathers experience postpartum depression. (Postpartum Support International (PSI))

Partners may also be struggling while simultaneously trying to support someone else.

They may think:

• “I should be the strong one.”
• “My partner is the one who gave birth, so my feelings aren’t as important.”
• “I’m exhausted, but everyone expects me to be okay.”
• “I don’t know how to help.”
• “Something feels different, but I don’t know what to do.”

These experiences deserve attention too.

Why Specialized Perinatal Therapy Matters

Perinatal mental health concerns can be complex because psychological symptoms intersect with so many other factors:

Hormonal and physiological changes
Sleep deprivation
Birth experiences and medical trauma
Infertility and reproductive loss
Infant feeding challenges
Relationship changes
Previous trauma
Family and cultural expectations
Financial and occupational stress
Identity and role transitions
Existing psychiatric conditions

A clinician who understands perinatal mental health can help distinguish between expected adjustment and symptoms that may require more intensive intervention. Perinatal mental health treatment may involve psychotherapy, psychiatric evaluation, medication management, primary care, obstetric care, pediatric care, lactation support, social support, or higher levels of psychiatric care.

At Dr. Solis Therapy & Consulting, perinatal mental health care is informed by specialized training through Postpartum Support International (PSI). PSI provides specialized education for professionals working with perinatal mental health concerns, including training in perinatal mood disorders, paternal mental health, psychotherapy, substance use, and psychopharmacology.

Treatment will consider the parent’s mental health and the physical, relational, developmental, cultural, and family systems surrounding the perinatal experience.

When Is It Time to Reach Out?

You do not have to wait until you are in crisis.

Consider reaching out for professional support if you are experiencing:

• Persistent sadness or anxiety
• Feeling emotionally overwhelmed or constantly on edge
• Difficulty sleeping even when the baby is sleeping
• Intrusive or frightening thoughts
• Excessive worry about the baby’s safety
• Feeling disconnected from your baby or partner
• Intense guilt or shame
• Anger or irritability that feels difficult to control
• Panic attacks
• Obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviors
• Birth-related trauma
• Feelings of hopelessness
• Difficulty functioning at home or work
• Significant relationship distress
• Feeling unusually energized, confused, paranoid, disconnected from reality, or unable to sleep

Some symptoms require urgent psychiatric evaluation, particularly symptoms of psychosis, mania, severe confusion, or thoughts of suicide or harming another person. Postpartum psychosis is a psychiatric emergency and requires immediate professional intervention.

At Dr. Solis Therapy & Consulting, we provide trauma-informed psychotherapy for individuals navigating pregnancy, early parenting, reproductive journeys, maternal mental health, anxiety, burnout, trauma, grief, and major life transitions. Services are available in Chicago and virtually throughout Illinois. 

Our approach recognizes that becoming a parent can affect every part of your life—your identity, relationships, body, career, emotional wellbeing, and sense of self. Therapy can be a space to slow down, make sense of the transition, and receive support without judgment.

You don’t have to wait until you’re in crisis to ask for help. If you or someone you love is struggling:

National Maternal Mental Health Hotline
Call or text: 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262)

The hotline provides free, confidential, 24/7 support for pregnant and postpartum people and their families.  (Maternal and Child Health Bureau)

Postpartum Support International (PSI)
Call: 1-800-944-4773
English: press 2 | Spanish: press 1
PSI also provides support groups, resources, provider directories, and specialized resources for parents, partners, fathers, postpartum psychosis, pregnancy and infant loss, and other perinatal experiences. (Postpartum Support International (PSI))

In an immediate emergency or if there is an imminent risk of harm, call 911 or 988 or go to the nearest emergency department.

Dr. Solis Therapy & Consulting, PLLC
Trauma-Informed Therapy | Perinatal & Maternal Mental Health | Women’s Wellness | Anxiety & Burnout | Life Transitions
Chicago & Telehealth Throughout Illinois
872.222.8860 | lizette@drsolis.org
www.drsolis.org

This resource is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized medical or mental health evaluation and treatment.