Emotional Health Resources in Pregnancy and Postpartum


Your body, spirit and family are undergoing huge changes with pregnancy and childbirth! It’s important to take care of your mental and emotional health. Resources are available to help support you.

Tending to your mental and emotional health can include focusing on nutritious foods, hydration, rest, and bonding with your family – including your baby (both before and after birth), other children, and your partner. It can include moving your body to help feel flow and connection, connecting in a parent or friend group, meditating or practicing breathwork, creating art, and listening to music. Sometimes it can include working with specialized professionals such as a mental health therapist, a psychiatry provider, or a spiritual/religious leader.

This blog post focuses on signs that specialized help might be needed. It provides links to resources to help identify and respond to mental health conditions in the perinatal period.

Here are some signs that might mean you or your partner need additional support with your mental health. These can happen before or after your baby is born. This is not an exclusive list so please reach out if you feel something isn’t right.

Symptoms of perinatal mood disorders:

-Feelings of anger/irritability or rage

-Feelings of guilt, shame or hopelessness

-Possible thoughts of harming the baby or yourself

-Constant worry

-Feeling that something bad might happen

-Changes in appetite

-Intrusive thoughts that are persistent and upsetting

-Fear of being left alone with your baby

-Hypervigilance (irritability, difficulty sleeping, exaggerated startle response)

-Difficulty sleeping even when the baby is sleeping

-Flashbacks from the birth or other events

-Racing thoughts

-Delusions or hallucinations

For more information on symptoms to look out for, see the resources broken down by condition at Postpartum International.


To learn more about protecting your mental health during pregnancy and after your baby arrives, try these resources:
  • Relationship between partners - Six Key Relationship Skills for Parents is a guide from the authors of the book Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn. Focusing on your relationship can help both parents feel healthier and supported.
  • Fact sheets from the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance. Fact sheets cover various topics on perinatal mental health including signs and symptoms, advocacy, populations at greater risk, and dads and depression. You can download these sheets and have them handy for reviewing during pregnancy and through the postpartum period.
  • Mind UK Perinatal Mental Health is out of England and Wales. It has sections on signs and symptoms of the most common types of perinatal mood disorders: depression, anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. It also includes a page focused on mood and anxiety disorders in partners.

This next section of this post provides resources if you need to access specialized care. In accessing any of these resources, you deserve to feel heard, validated, and supported. If you do not feel that way — or if you feel dismissed or even shamed — please keep going and access the next resource on the list. Most of the time, my clients are met with affirmation, care, and evidence-based approaches. Occasionally, they encounter an ill-prepared provider. If that happens, please know that it’s a “them” problem and not a “you” problem. Having a doula at your side can also help you navigate services.

At the time of this writing, I am located in the Northeast region of MN bordering Northwest WI in the United States, and I generally work with families nearby. I will include national resources here, as well as resources specific to the region I’m in. I would recommend that all families identify local resources early on in pregnancy.

What to do if you think there’s a problem:

Crisis numbers (if you need help immediately). Call or text 988* or call your regional crisis line 24/7:
  • 988 - Works across the US. *The 988 service doesn’t have geolocating yet. The number might not connect you directly to your local response team if you have an out of state number.
  • 1-833-TLC-MAMA - US National Maternal Mental Health Hotline
  • 844-772-4724 - Arrowhead Region, MN
  • 715-395-2259 - Douglas County, WI
  • 866-317-9362 - Ashland/Bayfield Counties, WI

Crisis Centers (if you need support in-person same day):
  • St. Louis County (MN) Behavioral Health Services includes resources on their webpage, including Urgent Care through Brightwater Health. At the time of this writing, the walk-in care location is 810 E. 4th St., open 8am-8pm Monday-Friday.
  • Hospital Emergency Room: Aspirus St. Luke’s (24/7), Building A, 1012 E. 2nd Street, 2nd Floor, Duluth, 218-249-5616
  • Hospital Emergency Room: Essentia Health St. Mary’s Duluth (24/7), 401 E 1st St. Duluth, Minnesota, 218-786-4000
  • Or your nearest local hospital ER.
I would look first for providers who have more of a clinic feel vs. an emergency room – such as a mental health provider that takes walk-ins or a mental health urgent care. If your region doesn’t have those resources – or if psychosis or imminent threat to the parent or baby are in play – visit the ER.


If you need support but are not in crisis (e.g., you need support within the next few days):
  • Talk to your mental health therapist or psychiatrist
  • Call your obstetrician, family medicine doctor or midwife
  • Talk to your baby’s pediatrician or family doctor
  • Contact your birth or postpartum doula (We are here for you and can help get you connected to resources.)

If you are looking to get established with a mental health therapist, your area likely has mental health therapists who specialize in perinatal support. Telehealth visits may be available. Below are some possible resources in the St. Louis County, MN and Douglas County, WI area, as of March 2026, as well as a nationally accessible locator through Postpartum Support International (PSI).
If you are looking to get established with a medication provider for your mental health, options are available.

You deserve to feel held and honored during your perinatal journey. Care for your mental and emotional health is an important part of that support.


Information in this post is accurate as of March 2026. Please consult the individual services listed as these do change. Listing a resource here does not constitute a referral or recommendation. This post is a complement to the counsel of your doctor or midwife and is not medical advice.