Beyond a Birth Plan: Why a Postpartum Mental Health Plan is Essential for New Parents

As an expecting parent, you have likely spent significant time preparing for childbirth—researching hospitals, packing a delivery bag, and outlining your birth plan. But have you considered how you will care for your mental and emotional well-being after your baby arrives?

While the focus of pregnancy often centers around the baby, postpartum mental health is equally important. The weeks and months following birth represent a period of transition, both physically and psychologically.

A postpartum mental health plan offers a structured, proactive way to prepare for this transition, helping you navigate the emotional complexities of new parenthood with clarity and support.

What is a Postpartum Mental Health Plan?

A postpartum mental health plan is a personalized, preventive strategy designed to support your emotional and psychological well-being after childbirth. It identifies key supports, risk factors, and action steps to address emotional challenges that may arise during the postpartum period.

A postpartum mental health plan is a valuable tool for all new parents - just as a birth plan helps guide labor and delivery, a postpartum mental health plan helps ensure that care for your mental and emotional health doesn’t stop after the baby is born.

Why Create a Postpartum Mental Health Plan?

The postpartum period is a time of significant emotional, physical, and hormonal change, often accompanied by disrupted sleep, shifting identities, and evolving relationships. While it's common to experience the "baby blues"—temporary mood swings, tearfulness, and irritability that typically resolve within a few weeks—some individuals develop more serious and lasting conditions, such as perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs). 

Approximately 1 in 5 women experience a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder (PMAD) during pregnancy or the first year postpartum. PMADs refer to a range of mental health conditions that occur during pregnancy and/or postpartum, including:

• Perinatal Depression: persistent sadness, loss of interest in activities, fatigue or low energy, feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness

• Perinatal Anxiety: excessive worry or fear (often about the baby’s health/safety), feeling “on edge,” racing thoughts, physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, nausea, and dizziness

• Perinatal Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: unwanted thoughts or mental images (often about harm coming to the baby), compulsive behaviors to reduce anxiety (e.g., excessively checking on the baby), avoidance of situations that bring out the unwanted thoughts 

• Postpartum Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: flashbacks or nightmares related to a traumatic birth and/or medical experience, avoidance of reminders (e.g., hospitals), feeling constantly on alert, emotional numbness 

• Postpartum Psychosis: delusions, hallucinations, paranoia 

Proactively planning for postpartum mental health is a powerful form of self-care and a vital aspect of ensuring a healthy transition into parenthood.

FAQ: Should I Create a Postpartum Mental Health Plan If I’m Not Struggling?

Answer: Yes! A postpartum mental health plan is not just for those currently experiencing emotional difficulties. Creating a postpartum mental health plan can enhance your transition to parenthood by ensuring that you have access to support.

What are the Components of a Postpartum Mental Health Plan?

A postpartum mental health plan helps parents prepare emotionally and practically for the challenges of new parenthood. It supports early recognition of mood changes, identifies sources of support, and ensures access to resources before they’re urgently needed. A postpartum mental health plan typically includes:\

• Self-Care Strategies: developing sleep, nutrition, and exercise plans, identifying times for rest, and developing strategies for managing household and practical concerns 

• Warning Signs: creating a list of personal warning signs to watch for

• Coping Skills: identifying coping strategies, such as affirmations and grounding techniques, that can be used to support mental and emotional health 

• Support Network: identifying trusted people (e.g., partner, family, friends) who can offer emotional and practical support

• Communication Plan: identifying ways to communicate your needs with loved ones and/or support team

• Professional Contacts: list members of your support team, such as therapists, psychiatrists, doulas, and/or support groups 

• Crisis Plan: identifying emergency contacts and steps to take if severe mental health symptoms arise, such as the 988 Lifeline and the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline (1-833-TLC-MAMA)

What are the Benefits of a Postpartum Mental Health Plan?

There are several benefits to creating a postpartum mental health plan, including:

Increases Confidence in Your Ability to Handle Stress

When you have a clear plan in place, you are more likely to approach challenges with confidence. Knowing where to go for help and what self-care strategies to use —two key components of a postpartum mental health plan — can help provide you with the emotional tools to manage stress more effectively. 

Faster Response to Warning Signs

When you’re adjusting to parenthood, it can be easy to brush off emotional symptoms or feel confused about what’s “normal.” A postpartum mental health plan helps you and your loved ones know what signs to look out for, such as persistent sadness, feelings of disconnection, or rising anxiety. Identifying warning signs early on can help you connect with support more quickly. 

Strengthens Your Support Network

Identifying your network not only provides clarity for you but also invites those people into your journey with intention. Whether it’s your partner, sibling, friend, or therapist, a postpartum mental health plan communicates what you need and how they can help, reducing isolation and strengthening connection.

Reduces Guilt About Asking for Help

Many parents struggle to ask for help because they feel like they should “have it all together.” A postpartum mental health plan normalizes the idea that help is part of the plan. It puts support on the table as a strategy, not a weakness, which can reduce shame and make it easier to reach out when needed.

Empowers You to Prioritize Yourself

​​New parents often feel pressure to give everything to their baby, leaving little energy for themselves. A postpartum mental health plan helps remind you (and those around you) that your wellbeing matters too—and that a healthy parent is a cornerstone of a healthy family.

Gives You a Greater Sense of Preparedness 

Parenthood can be unpredictable - plans go sideways, routines are disrupted, and emotions can swing wildly. A postpartum mental health plan can serve as a guiding framework, providing a reassuring sense of structure.

How to Get Started 

Several organizations provide free postpartum mental health plan templates online. Postpartum Support International, a non-profit organization that provides mental health support and resources for individuals during pregnancy and postpartum, has free downloadable postpartum mental health plan templates. You can create your individualized postpartum mental health plan on your own or with a trusted support person, such as a therapist, partner, or friend/family member. Once your postpartum mental health plan is completed, share it with loved ones so they can help ensure that you are well supported.

Connect With Support: Ebb & Flow Psychological Associates Can Help

If you’re currently pregnant or navigating new parenthood, it is important to prioritize your mental health. And you don’t have to do it alone. At Ebb & Flow Psychological Associates, we specialize in supporting women throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period. Whether you're looking to create your own postpartum mental health plan, need guidance for managing stress, or feel overwhelmed, our compassionate team is here to support you.