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Learn more about PPD: Postpartum depression
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a clinical mood disorder that develops after childbirth. It differs from the "baby blues," a brief period of tearfulness and mood fluctuation that typically resolves within two weeks after birth. PPD is more persistent, more intense, and doesn't lift without support.
It can begin any time in the first year after giving birth, though it most commonly develops within the first few weeks or months. Postnatal depression, as it's also known in British and European clinical contexts, affects a significant proportion of new parents, including fathers, non-birthing partners, and adoptive parents. It is not a sign of failure as a parent, and it is treatable.
PPD often looks different from person to person, which is one reason it goes unrecognised. It doesn't always look like sadness. Some people experience it primarily as numbness, disconnection from their baby, persistent worry, or an inability to rest even when the opportunity is there.
Core symptoms may include:
- Low mood or persistent sadness that doesn't improve with rest or support
- Feeling detached from your baby or unable to bond
- Intrusive thoughts that feel distressing or out of character
- Difficulty sleeping, even when the baby is asleep
- Changes in appetite, concentration, or memory
- Feeling overwhelmed, hopeless, or as though you're not coping
- Withdrawing from your partner, family, or close friends
- Heightened anxiety, including fears around the baby's health or safety
Several therapy approaches have good evidence for postpartum depression. The most suitable one depends on how PPD is presenting, whether anxiety or birth trauma is involved, and your preferences around the kind of work you want to do.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is one of the most widely researched approaches for PPD. It helps identify and interrupt the thought patterns that maintain low mood and self-critical thinking, and has strong evidence for both moderate and severe presentations.
Person-centred therapy offers a non-directive space where the focus is on being heard without judgement. It can be particularly useful when the experience of becoming a parent has brought up questions of identity, worth, or expectations that weren't previously examined.
Psychodynamic therapy explores how earlier experiences, including attachment history and family patterns, shape the current experience of parenthood. It can help with PPD that feels rooted in deeper relational material.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) may be relevant where PPD overlaps with birth trauma. For parents who found the birth experience frightening or distressing, trauma-focused work can form part of the overall treatment.
Severe PPD often benefits from a combination of therapy and medication, agreed with a GP or psychiatrist. Therapy and medication are not mutually exclusive, and for many people both together produce better outcomes than either alone.
Choosing an approach isn't something you have to do alone. IC's matching can pair you with a therapist whose approach suits your situation. Get matched.
It's Complicated is a therapist-founded mental health platform connecting clients with verified practitioners across Europe and globally, in over 60 languages. We work with over 2,500 vetted therapists, with in-person availability in Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon, Vienna, and other major cities, alongside online sessions worldwide. It's Complicated is free to use, and you pay your chosen therapist directly at rates they set.
Finding therapy while you're already stretched thin as a new parent is genuinely hard. Our matching service is built to remove that friction. You complete a short survey, our psychologists combine data-driven insights with human judgement to identify the right therapists for your situation, and you choose from a shortlist of strong candidates. You can also browse our directory directly if you'd prefer to choose yourself.
Get matched with a therapist who specialises in postpartum depression, or browse all postnatal depression therapists in the directory.
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