As well as the joys of having a baby, it is very common to also feel overwhelmed. However loved and longed-for this tiny person is, the sense of responsibility, relentlessness, exhaustion and unpredictability can be enormous. 

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Anxiety and depression are common in early parenthood. Expectations you have of yourself, or those attached to you by other people, might make the early months and years of parenting feel quite difficult. This new lack of control in everyday life, in addition to sleep deprivation, often causes unexpected upset and insecurity in relationships. Conflicting feelings - elation and overtiredness, for example, or unity and resentment within a couple - can be both confusing and depleting.

 

Counselling gives you a space to make sense of your feelings, to feel more at ease in this new phase of your life, and to reconnect with your sense of self.

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Certain circumstances can intensify and complicate anxious or difficult feelings in early parenthood. Examples include:

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• The arrival of a baby following a protracted fertility journey
   

• The arrival of a baby following pregnancy loss
   

• Parents of babies admitted to neonatal units
   

• Parents who have experienced a traumatic birth
   

• Parents with a history of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or those for whom it develops postnatally

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