Perinatal & Postpartum Support
Pregnancy, birth, and becoming a parent can bring some of the most meaningful moments of your life -- and some of the most unexpected challenges. You may find yourself feeling anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, or unlike yourself, even if you deeply love your baby.
Maybe motherhood hasn't felt the way you imagined it would. Maybe you're struggling with thoughts or emotions that feel difficult to talk about, or you're still trying to process a pregnancy, birth, or postpartum experience that didn't go the way you hoped.
You don't have to navigate these experiences alone. Therapy can provide a space to slow down, process what you're experiencing, and feel supported as you adjust to this new chapter.
At Ashley Sheff Counseling Services, we provide specialized perinatal and postpartum therapy for women navigating pregnancy, postpartum adjustment, anxiety, depression, birth trauma, identity changes, and the many emotional challenges that can accompany becoming a parent.
Perinatal and postpartum support is available in-person in West Chester, PA, with virtual therapy available throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Florida.
Postpartum Anxiety & Depression
The postpartum period can bring emotions that feel very different from what you expected.
You may find yourself constantly worrying about your baby's health or safety, experiencing intrusive thoughts, feeling unable to relax, or struggling to turn your mind off. You may feel sad, disconnected, irritable, overwhelmed, or like you're simply going through the motions.
Sometimes you may even wonder, “Why am I struggling when I have so much to be grateful for?”
Postpartum anxiety and depression can look different for everyone. Therapy can provide a judgment-free space to understand what you're experiencing, develop tools to manage difficult emotions, and begin feeling more like yourself again.
Birth Trauma & Difficult Birthing Experiences
Not every difficult birth experience looks traumatic from the outside.
You may have experienced an emergency C-section, unexpected complications, a frightening medical experience, loss of control, feeling dismissed or unheard, or a situation involving your or your baby's health. Even if you and your baby are physically healthy, you may still feel shaken by what happened.
You may find yourself replaying the experience, avoiding reminders of your birth, feeling anxious about having another baby, or wondering why you can't simply “move past it.”
Your experience doesn't have to fit someone else's definition of trauma for it to matter.
Therapy can help you process what happened, understand how the experience continues to affect you, and begin to feel safer and more grounded moving forward.
Learn More About Therapy for Birth Trauma -->
Read our Blog Post on Birth Trauma -->
The Transition to Motherhood
Becoming a parent changes so much more than your daily routine. It can affect your identity, relationships, career, friendships, and the way you see yourself.
You may feel disconnected from your partner, overwhelmed by the responsibilities of parenting, uncertain about returning to work, or surprised by how much you've changed since becoming a mother.
You may also be grieving parts of your life or identity that feel different now.
Therapy can give you space to explore these changes without judgment and to make room for both the person you were and the person you are becoming.
How Therapy Can Help
There is no single way you are “supposed” to feel during pregnancy or after having a baby.
Our approach is warm, collaborative, and trauma-informed. We will work together to understand what you're experiencing and identify the support and strategies that make sense for you.
When appropriate, trauma-focused approaches such as EMDR therapy can be incorporated to help process difficult or distressing experiences, including birth and medical trauma.
You don't have to know exactly what you need before reaching out. As a perinatal therapist in West Chester, part of our work together is figuring that out. We’re here to help you find your footing again, at your own pace, in your own way.
During a free consultation, we'll talk about what's bringing you to therapy, answer your questions, and determine if a clinician on our team may be the right fit for you.
