Therapy for Pregnancy, Postnatal Adjustment, Grief & Loss
I work with adults experiencing emotional, psychological, and relational difficulties during conception, pregnancy, the postnatal period, pregnancy loss, birth trauma, fertility and conception-related distress, and adjustment to becoming a parent.
This period is often spoken about as though it should feel joyful or instinctive. For many people, it is much more complicated than that. You might feel anxious, grieving, overwhelmed, detached, resentful, ashamed, frightened, or unlike yourself. Therapy offers space to understand what you are feeling, what may have been stirred up, and what kind of support or change may be needed.
On this page
Therapy may be helpful if you are experiencing
Antenatal or postnatal anxiety
Antenatal or postnatal depression
Pregnancy loss
Birth trauma or fear of birth
Fertility or conception-related distress
Guilt, resentment, anger, shame, or self-criticism
Difficulties with attachment or bonding with baby
Disconnection or feeling unlike yourself
Identity changes or relationship strain
Experiences from your own childhood or family of origin becoming more present during pregnancy, birth, or early parenthood
Grief, loss, and pregnancy-related anxiety
Grief can be present in many parts of the pregnancy and postnatal experience. It may arise through fertility difficulties, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth, losing a baby, pregnancy after loss, birth trauma, or the painful gap between what you hoped this period would be and what it has been.
Pregnancy loss and losing a baby
Pregnancy loss, stillbirth, and the death of a baby can each bring grief that is deeply personal and significant. What matters is your individual experience of the loss, and how it has affected the hopes and wishes you had about this baby and your family.
These experiences can bring shock, disbelief, sorrow, anger, guilt, numbness, anxiety, and a loss of trust in your body or the world. They may hold both the physical or medical impact of what happened, and the grief of losing a baby or hoped-for baby.
There may also be grief for the life, family, and future you had imagined. This can feel especially isolating when other people do not understand the depth of the loss, or when the baby was already known, loved, or anticipated by others.
There is no right or wrong way to grieve
Grief does not unfold in a neat or predictable way. It may move between acute pain, numbness, longing, anger, ordinary functioning, and moments of meaning or connection. There may also be a search for why this happened, or a wish to find something that could have been done differently. Therapy can offer space for these thoughts, feelings, and questions.
Pregnancy and parenting after loss
Pregnancy and parenting after loss can feel complex. A new pregnancy does not erase grief, and another baby does not replace the baby who died. Pregnancy after loss can bring significant anxiety, especially when the previous loss involved frightening, painful, confusing, or traumatic experiences.
Scans, symptoms, appointments, changes in the body, or preparing for birth can reactivate memories of what happened before. You may feel unable to relax, find yourself checking for signs that something is wrong, feel afraid to bond, or believe that loss will happen again.
After the birth of another baby, grief may also continue or return in new ways. Therapy can offer space to hold both realities: grief for the baby or pregnancy that was lost, and the developing relationship with a new baby or hoped-for baby.
Fathers, non-birthing partners, and family members
Pregnancy loss, pregnancy after loss, and birth trauma can also affect fathers, non-birthing partners, and other close family members. It can be deeply distressing to witness someone you love go through pain, fear, loss, or medical trauma while also holding your own experience of losing your baby.
There may be grief, anxiety, powerlessness, guilt, protectiveness, delayed grief, or a pressure to stay strong for the other person. Therapy can offer space for these experiences too.
My approach to grief and loss
I aim to offer a steady, non-judgemental space where grief can be spoken about at its own pace. Therapy may involve telling the story of what happened, making room for complex or conflicting feelings, and thinking together about the meaning of the pregnancy, baby, loss, or hoped-for future.
The work is not about moving on, but about having a place to be witnessed, to make sense of what has happened and what it has meant for you, to express what may have been held privately, and to find ways of carrying grief, love, memory, and uncertainty over time.
Birth trauma
A difficult or traumatic birth can stay with you long after the physical event is over. You may have felt frightened, powerless, dismissed, exposed, violated, uncared for, or as though decisions were happening around you rather than with you. You may have feared the worst, or felt disconnected from what was happening as a way of getting through it.
Afterwards, people might have said, “At least the baby is okay.” While this may be true, it can also leave you feeling alone with your own experience. You may be left with anger, grief, fear, shame, or a sense of injustice, while also needing to care for a baby and keep going.
Difficult birth experiences can affect bonding, feeding, sleep, intimacy, trust in health professionals, and feelings about future pregnancies or births. Therapy can provide space to process what happened, make sense of your emotional responses, and think about what support, choice, and safety might look like now.
Identity, relationships, and becoming a parent
Pregnancy and the postnatal period can bring major changes in identity, relationships, and sense of self. You may be trying to make sense of who you are now, and how to hold together parts of yourself, roles, and feelings that can be difficult to reconcile.
When old ways of coping are under pressure
Becoming a parent can place pressure on ways of coping that may have worked well before. If you have been used to being self-sufficient, capable, independent, or in control, the dependence, uncertainty, and emotional demands of this period can feel unfamiliar or unsettling. Therapy can help make sense of these patterns, why they may have developed, and what might be needed now.
Relationship strain and changing roles
The transition to parenthood can also affect relationships. You and your partner may be adjusting to new roles, less sleep, less freedom, and more emotional demand. If your relationship has not previously required much dependence, communication, or shared care, this new stage can expose tensions that were easier to manage before. You may withdraw when you feel unsupported, say you are fine when you are not, or feel deeply hurt when your needs are not noticed. Therapy can offer space to understand these patterns and what may be needed between you.
When your own childhood is stirred up
Becoming a parent can activate memories, feelings, and questions from your own early life. You may find yourself thinking about how you were parented, what was missing, what felt frightening or confusing, and what you want to do differently.
Sometimes there is a clear wish not to repeat what was painful, but less clarity about what the alternative looks like. You may feel determined to parent differently, while also feeling unsure, overwhelmed, or without a reliable internal model for what different could be.
Earlier experiences of criticism, emotional absence, trauma, neglect, or feeling unsupported can become more present when you are now in the position of caring for a child yourself. Therapy can help you understand what has been activated, how earlier experiences may be shaping the present, and how to relate to yourself and your child with more reflection, steadiness, and choice.
Attachment and bonding with your baby
Bonding with a baby does not always feel immediate or simple, and each parent may experience this differently. Pregnancy, birth, loss, trauma, depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation, feeding difficulties, or limited support can all affect how emotionally available or connected you feel.
You may love your baby and still feel distant, unsure, overwhelmed, protective, resentful, anxious, or afraid of getting it wrong. You may find yourself watching closely for signs of distress, feeling flooded by your baby’s cries, or unsure how to understand what your baby needs.
Therapy can offer space to think about your relationship with your baby, including what your baby may be communicating, what gets stirred up in you, and what helps you feel more steady and responsive. The aim is not to be perfectly attuned all the time, but to help you feel more able to understand your baby’s needs, trust your responses, and reconnect after difficult moments.
Individual Therapy
My approach is relational psychodynamic and attachment-informed, while also drawing on interpersonal, grief and loss, trauma-informed, and mindfulness-based approaches depending on each person’s needs and context.
This means therapy is interested not only in symptoms or difficulties, but also in understanding the emotional, relational, physiological, and practical context in which they occur. In the perinatal period, this may include what is happening now, what has happened before, and what this stage of life brings into view.
I aim to offer a thoughtful, steady, and collaborative space where your experience can be spoken about at its own pace.
Therapy may be shorter-term and focused on a particular concern, or longer-term for deeper exploration and understanding. Together, we can think about how this period is affecting you, what feels hard to say or feel, and what might support you to relate to yourself, others, and your baby or hoped-for baby with greater clarity and compassion.
Pregnancy and postnatal psychotherapy in East Melbourne and via telehealth
I offer psychotherapy for pregnancy, postnatal adjustment, pregnancy loss, birth trauma, fertility and conception-related distress, and perinatal mental health in East Melbourne and via telehealth across Australia.
If you are looking for support with antenatal anxiety, postnatal anxiety, postnatal depression, pregnancy loss, birth trauma, or fertility-related distress, you are welcome to get in touch to discuss whether therapy with me may be a good fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. I work with people across conception, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, birth, the postnatal period, and adjustment to becoming or trying to become a parent. You do not need to have a baby, be currently pregnant, or feel certain about parenthood to seek support.
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Yes. Pregnancy loss can bring grief, shock, anger, guilt, fear, numbness, or a loss of trust in your body or future. Therapy can offer space to process what happened, make sense of your feelings, and be supported through grief, uncertainty, and any anxiety about future pregnancies.
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Yes. A difficult or traumatic birth can stay with you long after the physical event is over. Therapy can help you process what happened, including feelings of fear, powerlessness, grief, anger, shame, or being dismissed, and begin to carry the experience differently.
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This is very common. Pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood can stir memories, feelings, and patterns from earlier life. Therapy can help you understand what has been activated, how it may be shaping your present experience, and what kind of parent or person you are trying to become.
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Yes. I work individually with adults navigating the emotional and relational changes of conception, pregnancy, loss, birth, and early parenthood, including mothers, fathers, birthing parents, non-birthing parents, and people who are unsure about becoming a parent.
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Yes. I offer in person sessions in East Melbourne and telehealth for flexible access to therapy for adults in Australia.
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Therapy is most helpful when sessions are regular. I generally recommend weekly sessions.
Therapy may be shorter to medium term, often around 10–20 sessions, when there is a focused concern you would like support with. It may also be longer-term and more exploratory when you want space to understand your experience, relationships, identity, grief, history, or emotional patterns more deeply.
We can discuss frequency and likely duration in more depth during the assessment process.