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The moment a baby arrives, your brain and body change fast and not always in the ways you expected. I sit down with perinatal mental health therapist Sadie Clark to name what so many parents feel but struggle to say out loud: mood shifts can start in pregnancy, the baby blues have a real timeline, and “pushing through” is not the same thing as doing well.

We dig into the practical side of postpartum mental health, including how sleep deprivation affects nearly every condition, why motivation tanks when you are running on empty, and how baseline self-care like food and rest can be the most powerful first step. Sadie also shares her own experience with a breech baby and a planned C-section, plus the grief that can come when birth doesn’t match the picture you carried for months. We talk about holding two truths at once using “and” instead of “but,” so joy and disappointment can coexist without canceling each other out.

Then we get specific about postpartum anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and perinatal OCD, including the “what if” spiral, the heavy “should” list, and the relationship strain that shows up when everything has to be done a certain way. If you have a history of anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, or OCD, Sadie explains why the postpartum window of tolerance can narrow and what to do about it. We also cover treatment options, medication fears while breastfeeding, and where to find specialized help through Postpartum Support International, the PMHC credential, and Psychology Today.

If this conversation helps you feel seen, subscribe for more birth and postpartum support, share it with a parent who needs it, and leave a review so more families can find these tools. What part of postpartum mental health do you wish people talked about sooner?

https://www.serenityrw.com/meet-sadie/

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Show Credits

Host: Angie Rosier
Music: Michael Hicks
Photographer: Toni Walker
Episode Artwork: Nick Greenwood
Producer: Gillian Rosier Frampton
Voiceover: Ryan Parker

E116: Perinatal Mental Health Basics with Sadie Clark

The Ordinary Doula Podcast

E116: Perinatal Mental Health Basics with Sadie Clark