Pregnancy is a time where society often expects us to feel happy and excited, and for lots of different reasons, we may not feel that way. For some women it can be a time that brings up fears and worries. You might be fearful of labour or birth, which might be a first experience of this or may be a result of an experience you have had previously. For women who have experienced perinatal loss, it can be really challenging to travel this journey and you may worry about staying pregnant. You might be experiencing a medically complex pregnancy or challenges navigating maternity care. You might be worried about the postnatal adjustment, or developing difficulties in the postnatal period. Perhaps you are worried about being a good enough mother. It might be helpful to make space for these worries and thinking about what might support you in this period. I am here to help you through this.
Losing a precious much-loved baby is one of the most difficult, and often traumatic experiences a person can go through. The pain of such a loss can be crippling. Parents can often say that they feel isolated and misunderstood, and that everyone else around them is moving on. Everyone's grief journey is unique and deeply personal, and there is no right or wrong way to grieve. It is an ever-evolving process. Our relationship with our babies begins in our imagination long before we meet them, and as a result experiencing a loss at any stage can be devastating and profound. Psychological therapy can help to process feelings of grief and trauma, and to navigate what is a hugely difficult time.
Antenatal Support
Perinatal Loss
What can I help with?
Dr. Forrest can also offer shorter term listening support where ongoing structured psychological therapy is not a good fit. Sometimes having a space where you feel heard, validated and contained can be therapeutic in itself and ease up distress. Some examples of experiences that may fit this type of support include: experience of neonatal care, confidence in your parenting, bonding, returning to work etc...
We will work together using a solution-based approach in order to heal and find a way to move forward with confidence.
Listening, Holding, and Containing Space
You may have experienced events that are frightening, distressing and overwhelmed your capacity to cope. Experiences may have included challenges with fertility journeys, pregnancy and baby loss, having a termination (for any reason), pregnancy sickness, premature birth of your baby, your baby requiring specialised care following birth (e.g. admission to neonatal care), difficulties with breastfeeding. Therapy with me will be a space to make sense of the events and how you may be feeling in the here and now. Psychological therapies such as EMDR can be really helpful in processing ongoing trauma symptoms and filing away what has already happened in their rightful place.
The arrival of a new baby is a life changing experience. It can bring an array of complex and mixed emotions. It can be a time when we are often expected to feel joy and a 'rush of love' but instead we may feel disorientated, confused and alone. These feelings may be difficult to make sense of when what we expected and hoped for is different to the reality. You might have worries about whether you are 'getting it right', worries about harm coming to your baby or distressing intrusive thoughts. You might be struggling with low mood or worrying about a lot of different things. Becoming a parent ourselves often brings up memories of the ways in which we were parented. This might lead to worry about our own parenting