First-time mothers experience abrupt and significant life changes postpartum. The transition happens easily for some however many women experience a period of shock relating to the physical, mental and emotional responsibilities associated with the role of motherhood and the overall life transition that has occurred.

A little bit about me Fay :) I am a mother of two darling children and can wholeheartedly say my life did a complete 360 in a few short years. I went from being a single skinny girl living in Sunny Miami Florida, living an active and social lifestyle, driven to strive for a rewarding career which led me to becoming an Occupational Therapist then relocating to cold Toronto, Canada starting from scratch. Life changes brought on new roles (wife) and experienced many transitions including both career, personal, and environmental. My entire family all living in the states has been probably the hardest on me emotionally perinatally and shortly after our son was born.

I am grateful that I live in a time where there is a plethora of information and support out there, however one must look for this information to get help and it can be very overwhelming. I am lucky that I was able to pull myself out of my baby blues but it did take some time. I strongly believe I got lucky, partially due to my professional background, however I do attribute much of my mental health and well-being to my wonderful and my incredibly supportive husband and mother.

My own journey into motherhood and all of the experiences entailed has brought on my passion to provide both new moms and dads perinatal psychotherapy. I work with both expecting mothers pre and post childbirth because preventing postpartum depression and facilitating a smooth transition into motherhood impacts the health of the mother, infant and spouse.

What role can occupational therapy provide for new mothers struggling to adapt to life change?

Services offered & Some Helpful Tips to Keep in Mind during pregnancy:

• Optimism during pregnancy render women less susceptible to developing postpartum depression. Stress-frequency and pessimism during pregnancy have been identified in several studies as predictive indicators for the development of postpartum depression.

• Occupational change occurs in the number of activities and roles that changed pre and post partum therefore these new experiences to the new role of motherhood may bring mixed emotions and bring a new mother into an overwhelmed emotional and physical state of being.

• Highly recommend the effect of a social support group for new mothers (depressed and non-depressed) intervention focused on 1 to 1 therapy and/or social support groups. Offer social support prenatally and postnatally.

• Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Perinatal Depression.

The life change experienced by new mothers postpartum can lead to varying levels of depression. Protective factors such as social support, optimism and minimal stress decrease a mother’s risk for developing postpartum depression. Exercise and continued social support postnatally improve a new mothers self-perceived health. These findings have important implications for healthcare professionals working with expecting mothers because they have the opportunity to screen for these risks. Occupational therapists are healthcare professionals who are trained in developing interventions to promote a successful life transitions and they have the potential to benefit mothers who are struggling to adapt to the role of motherhood.

Interventions the OT could use to serve new mothers are providing patient education adapted to the mom's learning style and introducing resources that are helpful for their unique context. OT’s can facilitate social support through their therapeutic rapport while encouraging participation in the client’s pre-childbirth activities by modifying their environment, adapting their activities and by working with the moms-to-be in developing habits and routines that allow for increased participation with friends and family. Occupational therapists can improve a client’s optimistic point of view by highlighting their strengths and teaching coping skills to use during stressful situations. They can also teach techniques such as mindfulness practice, meditation, exercise and breathing techniques to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Thank you for reading and feel free to share :)

Fay Gersh, OT Reg. (Ont).

Registered Occupational Therapist