Emotions / Hormones

Childbirth Trauma  Giving birth is a powerful experience and the journey often unfolds in ways we might not expect and cannot control.  Sometimes women feel that their transition to motherhood is traumatic. This may result from unexpected or unwanted medical interventions during labor and birth and/or postpartum, the speed at which they labored, the way […]

Having a baby may open a world of new feelings about your own parents. Have you felt a new sense of connection? A feeling of loss about family and loved ones not around you? Worries because you want to parent your baby differently than your parents did you? Your feelings are all important. The transition […]

Families come together in many different and beautiful ways. We know that there is an urgent need for more information for people who have a uterus and give birth but may not identify as a woman or mother. We strongly believe that all new parents need and deserve respect, support and encouragement no matter what […]

Postpartum Support International is an organization that has wonderful resources and supports for new parents. Click here to connect with them. Women experience many physical, hormonal, sleep, and relational changes while pregnant and after giving birth.  With so much going on it is VERY common for women to have many different feelings in the weeks […]

The birth of a baby also births a new mother. Having a baby changes us. Research confirms that almost all women undergo “fundamental changes” after childbirth that actually alter their brains. Yes, your body, relationships, priorities, and life change but also your sense of self.  This is not something most women expect to happen. As […]

For people who identify as transgender or gender non-binary (TGNB) , giving birth brings many of the same emotional changes that cisgender women experience.  Your baby is no longer inside you. This may feel happy, or a little sad. Some worries may have gone away, but now new ones are there, as you learn to […]

When we become moms, we’re wired to protect our babies. The hormones of labor, cuddling and breastfeeding trigger moms to respond to our baby’s cries. But we’re not supposed to do it by ourselves – in fact, the reason babies have evolved to be cute is so that other grownups want to help take care […]

During pregnancy, your placenta cranks out the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Some of that progesterone changes into a hormone called allopregnanolone, which binds to a receptor in the brain called GABA. The GABA receptor relaxes you – it’s the same receptor that alcohol and medications like valium bind to. During pregnancy, moms are essentially swimming […]