What to Know About Maternal Mental Health with Dr. Emily Guarnotta

Jennifer Norman:
Foreign hello beautiful humans. Welcome to the Human Beauty Movement Podcast, your source for hope, healing, happiness and humanity. My name is Jennifer Norman. I'm the founder of the Human Beauty Movement and your host. This podcast is here to guide you on your journey of self, love, empowerment, soul alignment and joy. With each episode, I invite beautiful humans from all corners of the globe to join me for open conversations about their life lessons and the important work that they are doing to help heal humankind. Take a moment now to subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode. I'm so glad you're here joining me for today's show.

Jennifer Norman:
Did you know that up to one in seven women experience postpartum depression? And nearly 50% of mothers with perinatal mental health issues know never seek help. Parenthood is often painted as a time of pure joy, yet for so many, it can also bring unexpected challenges like anxiety, depression, and even birth trauma. These issues are common, but too often go undiscussed. Today we're joined by Dr. Emily Guarnotta, a licensed clinical psychologist and certified perinatal mental health specialist. Dr. Emily is the founder of Phoenix Health, a therapy practice dedicated to support supporting parents as they navigate the complexities of parenthood. With over a decade of experience and a personal journey, as a mother herself, she's passionate about helping parents heal and thrive.

Jennifer Norman:
From postpartum depression to navigating the transition back to work, Dr. Emily specializes in the unique challenges that new parents face. Her mission is to make therapy more accessible and to break down the stigma surrounding maternal mental health. In this episode, you'll gain invaluable insights into how to recognize and cope with postpartum depression and anxiety, healing from birth trauma and finding your emotional footing again, strategies for improving your relationships after having kids, and tips for navigating the tricky transition from maternity leave back to work. Whether you're a parent, partner, or someone supporting a new family, this episode will equip you with tools to foster resilience, compassion, and connection.

Jennifer Norman:
Before we dive in, we want to remind you that the information shared in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It's not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician, therapist, or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health condition.

Jennifer Norman:
Never disregard professional advice or delay seeking it because of something you hear on this podcast. If you're experiencing a crisis or need immediate support, please contact a healthcare professional or emergency services in your area.

Jennifer Norman:
So now let's get ready for an honest, empowering conversation that might just change the way you approach parenthood. Welcome to the show, Dr. Emily.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Hi, Jennifer. Thank you for having me.

Jennifer Norman:
I am delighted to have you. Now, postpartum depression and anxiety are more common than a lot of people realize. Can you help everyone understand what these cond look and feel like?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah, definitely. So postpartum depression and anxiety, I will start by saying they are highly individual, so they do kind of differ from person to person. But some of the general signs of postpartum depression are a low or sad mood that lasts almost all day for at least a couple weeks. And it's often accompanied by other symptoms like very low energy, changes in sleep, sleep changes in appetite, difficulty concentrating or making decisions, and also in more severe cases, even suicidal thoughts. Postpartum anxiety overlaps a little bit with postpartum depression, but it's more of an anxiety, a worry, a nervousness. There's often intrusive thoughts that women with postpartum anxiety experience, like thoughts that feel very distressing and they can't seem to get out of their head. They can also have changes in their sleep. They can have difficulty concentrating and focus, feel very low energy, and often can also have physical symptoms because of their anxiety, like headaches and stomach aches and things of that nature.

Jennifer Norman:
Now, what is it that really causes this? Is it the shift in the swing of hormones after pregnancy? Is it because of sleep deprivation? A lot of people might have some general ideas of what causes it, but not really know biologically what's occurring inside them.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
It's definitely the million dollar question. Researchers are trying to really, and scientists and providers really trying to why some women get this. And also I will say it's not just birthing women that can get these conditions. It's also non birthing partners, adopted parents, etc.

Jennifer Norman:
Interesting.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
So because it's not only birthing women that get these conditions, we know that it's more than just the hormonal shift or biological that changes that happen when you give birth, although that is a big factor why these conditions can develop. Sleep deprivation, we know, definitely plays a role. I mean, that really takes a toll. We know any kind of sleep deprivation affects your mental health, so that's definitely a big factor. Support plays actually a really critical role. A lot of people aren't aware of this, but if you have a very small or limited support system or your support system, there's a lot of tension or issues in your support system with your partner, with your family, friends or community, then you're actually at much greater risk of developing perinatal mental health conditions like PPD and PPA.

Jennifer Norman:
Wow. Wow. So some people may experience these symptoms. And you said for a couple of weeks is really that point where it's like, maybe this isn't just a temporary thing, it's lingering and I might need to do something about it. Are there any other specific signs that a person really should be seeking professional support for what they're going through?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah, I definitely always tell people if you feel like something's not right, then it's a good time to seek help. It's better to seek help now and catch it preemptively than to wait and put it off and possibly have it worsened. So I always caution people fear feeling like things, something's not quite right here, definitely seek help. But that being said, there are some signs that there could be an emergency going on. Postpartum psychosis is... It's a rare mental health condition. It affects about 0.1% of births, birthing mothers. But it's a very serious condition where a woman actually has a loss of touch with reality.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
So if someone in your life has just given birth and they're seeing or hearing things that aren't there, or they're having delusions, which are very fixed beliefs that are very odd and false, but the person really believes them to be true, then those are definitely signs of postpartum psychosis and that you should take immediate action to get that person help.

Jennifer Norman:
Wow. And so you just mentioned something about the support system, which some people have and are blessed to have family around or good friends, but there are a lot of people who may be just single moms having a child, and they're rearing this child by themselves with not very much support. And so from that stand point, how do you best advise somebody who really feels like they are alone and are really struggling with just a newborn and dealing with all of the issues that come with it?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah, it's really hard. It's not only the lack of support, but studies actually show it's your perceived lack of support. So, for example, you could have 10 close friends, and to one person, that might sound like a lot, but if you don't perceive those relationships to be really supportive and helpful, still, you could still have a hard time with that and still feel pretty isolated, despite maybe having what on paper looks like such a good point. Yeah, and you bring up a really good point, because a lot of people are raising their children more in isolation these days, where there's not really that village around to support, help, care for the children and support the parents too. And certainly if you're a single parent, that is very, very challenging. When I work with people, I really try to help them find ways to either expand their support system or work through any of the issues that might kind of be barriers in their relationships with their existing support systems and really trying to build that sense of support. And I also like to remind people support can look so different.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
So sometimes support is paid help. And that's if you're able to do that, you have that opportunity available to you. That may be a way that you kind of build your support system or that might be your village. And your support system can certainly shift throughout the course of your life. But we try to really get creative figuring out ways to build that system, whether it's going to Mommy and Me classes or reconnecting with friends that maybe you lost touch with. There's a lot of different ways. But I encourage people to try to think about, get creative in ways that they could build that support system up.

Jennifer Norman:
How important to be able to identify that. I just want to just pause on it for a moment because if you're a single mom having a baby and I think that a lot of times you're like, I'm shouldering this alone and it's this feeling of I'm doing it on my own. Even if you do have friends or others that are close by, you may actually say, well, I need to. Or there's this feeling that you're doing it alone and not necessarily identifying the fact that there are people that would potentially be willing to help or just kind of be there for you, even if it's just a listening ear for you. So the tendency towards self isolation can be met with just like more self awareness, I think. And not that that's the case for everybody certainly, but it can be one of those things. Maybe we can reflect upon just person to person to say, if somebody is there, do I feel guilty about asking somebody for help? Perhaps that is also just like a fear that we have is like, well, I don't want to bother somebody else with my situation, or I don't want to ask somebody for help because that's a sign of weakness. But it's really not. It's really not at all.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah, I think some of us can really fall into that trap of wearing it as a badge of honor, wearing, not asking help as a badge of honor. So to kind of, like you said, be self aware of that and reflect on it and kind of get curious about why maybe we're having a hard time asking for help or what that resistance is can help us better understand and then work through whatever those barriers are.

Jennifer Norman:
Okay.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Because we can't do it alone. That's just the truth. We haven't been able to raise children for as long as humans have been around. We've been raising children together as teams, as tribes, as teams, families, whatever you want to call it. And we do need that in some form.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah. There seems to be so much more attention these days on mental health, and so that unto itself is helping to release some of that stigma that had been there, but yet there still is a stigma against even going to a therapist in some cases. Or maybe we put up barriers like, oh, it's going to cost a lot, or it's something that I have to continue do. I don't have the time. And maybe this is something that I can work out on my own. How do you respond to people who still feel like mental health or supporting one's mental health is a stigma?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah, I mean, I could share a little bit of a personal story because I even fell into this after I had my first child. I pretty quickly realized that I was having a hard time. And then it persisted kind of beyond that, baby blues. And I was really hesitant to label it as postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety, but I knew something wasn't quite right and thought to myself, I really should get back into therapy and talk to someone about this, especially as a helping professional. And I have to say I resisted it for months and months and months. And looking back in hindsight, I realized I really had a tough time with admitt that I needed help and asking for that help because I had this kind of irrational belief that because I was a helping professional, like, I couldn't be the one to ask for help. So I realized if even I went through it, I believe to be very open to mental health. I mean, so many people go through this and sometimes it's very subtle.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
You don't even realize that you have these kind of stigmas associated with it. We say all the right things. We try to remind people that it's okay to ask for help. There's no shame in it. You can't do it all alone. But when you're in that space, sometimes that really is deep down what you believe. And I think we just have to keep reminding people of these things until it does become more the norm. We've come a long way, I think, like you said, mental health is so much more openly spoken about, but we do still have a long way to go, especially in terms of perinatal maternal mental health.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah, yeah. I'm curious, is there a genetic component to a predisposition for postpartum depression or anxiety?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
There is. Studies have shown that there is a bit of a genetic component and there's also, if you personally have experienced anxiety or depression prior to having a baby, you're also at greater risk of developing it or having it worsened during the postpartum period. But if you've had a mother or another really close family member that's had postpartum depression, you are also at elevated risk.

Jennifer Norman:
Got it. What are some of the things that women can expect in terms of the care once they say, I'm going to seek help? Is it medication, is it other kinds of prescribed activities? Like what is it usually that somebody might be in for once they are diagnosed with postpartum depression or anxiety?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Well, that's a great question. Typically our first line of recommended treatment is talk therapy psychotherapy. If it is a more severe case of postpartum depression or if it's postpartum psychosis, then medication is almost always a part of that treatment. But for more mild to moderate cases of postpartum depression and anxiety, typically therapy, and that's usually one on one speaking with someone, whether it's in person or virtually. Ideally you want to work with a provider who has training in perinatal mental health just because they're going to be more where the evidence based treatments for working with this and they're going to be more able to kind of relate to some of the personal struggles that you're going through. Where a provider who hasn't had training in that area might see you more as a general case of anxiety or depression, but it really is more nuanced in the perinatal period. Support groups can also be a really important part of treatment. And again, those can be virtually or in person.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Postpartum Support International is a wonderful organization that offers a lot of free support groups each week online. So I really recommend anyone that's struggling or just interested to go to their website, postpartum.net and you can learn more about their support groups and sign up for them. And then also just lifestyle kind of changes, like we want to make sure that moms are getting enough rest. That's always a little tricky when you have a newborn. But we can kind of, you know, we talk through ways to help, whether it's relying a bit on their support system or kind of changing things around or working with their partners. So that they can get rest, eating well, drinking enough water, getting some movement, in meditation, stress reduction, all the things that we know are important for mental health in general. We'll want to talk to moms about and kind of navigate how they can make these a part of their lives.

Jennifer Norman:
Wow. Thank you so much for those resources and just kind of laying a picture of what somebody can expect so it's listened to, intimidating when they go and they seek help.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
It's not scary. Don't be afraid of us.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah, it's not. But yeah, it's actually probably really very positive and something to look forward to. You're going to feel better again. And that's what we all want.

Jennifer Norman:
Let's talk a bit about birth trauma, because I think that it's something that many parents experience but may not fully understand. What is birth trauma and how can it affect mental health?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
That's a great question. Birth trauma is having a birth experience that falls into your definition of trauma. So the reason why I say that is because what's traumatic to me may or may not be traumatic to you, but generally these are birthing experiences where something really scary happens. Maybe your life or your baby's life is at risk, or you feel very helpless or unsupported. And as a result of going through that, typically you develop some anxiety, you can develop some depression, you can even develop ptsd, Post Traumatic Stress disorder after the fact. But it's something, I think the last time I was reading an article, they said almost 45% of women define their birth as traumatic.

Jennifer Norman:
Wow.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah. Not all those women go on to develop ptsd, but nearly half of women feel in some way that their birth experience didn't go as expected and therefore was traumatic.

Jennifer Norman:
Wow, Interesting. So something things, and I'm sure that this is not a laundry list, but is it like if your child is breach or if there's an emergency cesarean or it could be that the partner couldn't arrive on time and so you had to go through the birth and it wasn't as expected, or in my case, the doctor never showed up. So again, I mean, it could be, to your point, very individual as far as, like, what is. Because we all have these grandiose expectations. I think when it's like weddings, birth, all of these different milestones in our lives and you have this picture of what the birth situation is going to mean. You do so much prep and planning in some cases, and then, yeah, something does not go according to what your preconceived plan was. That could be traumatic to you. It certainly could.

Jennifer Norman:
So it is. Yeah.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Those are all examples that I've heard of that women have gone through that feel traumatic.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah. And of course, there's always the late... Somebody gives birth in the back of a cab and the middle of a grocery store. We've heard it all. Wow. Okay. So it can, but not necessarily always. So if 45% do, do we know what percentage of that 45% may actually be diagnosed with some sort of mental health disorder afterwards?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah, it's. The range is about 5 to 10%.

Jennifer Norman:
Okay. Okay.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah. From what I can recall. So it's a portion of those. And some of the signs that you are possibly dealing with PTSD are you're having some intrusive memories, reminders of the trauma that happens. So you might kind of be replaying the bir. You might be having nightmares about it, like ruminating. Yeah, yeah. Intrusive thoughts about it.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
There can be an avoidance component where you don't want to think about what happened, or you may even have trouble. Say, I've heard people having trouble passing by the hospital or not wanting to go back to the doctor that delivered their baby if their birth was traumatic. Then there's also changes in your mood and your anxiety level. So feeling really down, really anxious, very hypervigilant, like on edge is something that a lot of people report. Very irritable, angry. Those are some of the most common signs.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah. I would also love to define intrusive thoughts, because I think that a lot of people think, oh, these thoughts come and go. But would you be able to describe or define intrusive thoughts and how somebody might be able to identify if they're having intrusive thoughts?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah, absolutely. I'm so glad you asked that question. Intrusive thoughts are any thoughts or images that are very distressing to you and feel like they kind of pop up out of nowhere, like feeling like you don't really have control, that they're there. And they're very common during the postpartum period. So I think you say about 90% of women have some form of an intrusive thought at some point when they're postpartum. But these can be thoughts like, all of a sudden, you see kind of a flash of you falling with the baby in your arms and the baby getting hurt. That's a common one. There can be intrusive thoughts about baby not breathing while they're sleeping.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
And as a result of these thoughts, you might try to do things to cope with anxiety that these thoughts. Thoughts cause. So, for example, you might keep repeatedly checking your baby to make sure they're breathing all night. And then as a result of that, you know, you're not getting sleep and you're feeling very anxious and hypervigilant. So these intrusive thoughts kind of have a ripple effect. Some people have thoughts like these and they're able to kind of come and go. But for others, particularly people with postpartum anxiety or depression, these thoughts can really feel like they stick around.

Jennifer Norman:
Okay.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
And like they don't leave. And that's where a lot of the distractions, stress comes in.

Jennifer Norman:
So that's the difference between just like a passing thought or even a nightmare, frankly. Because I think that a lot of us are like, oh, my gosh, I just had this nightmare that blah, blah, blah. But it's something that is distressing and it's recurring. And you seem to be modifying your behavior or feeling some sort of anxiousness or sadness or prolonged just like mental burden because of these thoughts.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Exactly, yeah. I mean, we all have them from time to time. Like, we've all had this situation where we're driving and all of a sudden we think, what if that car hits me? We've all kind of had that experience, but then it goes and we move on. With someone who's really suffering from these types of thoughts, it doesn't just pass by. It feels like it sticks around and they can't get rid of it.

Jennifer Norman:
Interesting.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah. It keeps coming back. They're repetitive.

Jennifer Norman:
I think Brene Brown was the one who is talking about going in and seeing your child and thinking like, oh my gosh, this is beautiful. And then all of a sudden being like {gasp}, like fearful that something is going to go wrong and like a shoe is going to drop. And then all of a sudden it's almost like that foreboding joy, like you're almost too worried about being too. Something wrong has got to happen. And then people start...

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
It's so good right now. I can't possibly feel.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah, it's not going to stay this way, but it will. It can, I promise you.

Jennifer Norman:
Another issue that a lot of people face is returning to work after maternity leave. And it's so challenging. Not only maternity leave, but paternity leave, anything like that. What advice would you have for those that are struggling to balance parenthood and career?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Well, the first thing I would say is you're definitely not alone. It's really, really hard, especially that init transition after you have a baby and you're just kind of getting your bearings, and then now you're Faced with this other transition of going back to work. Her book, Lauren Brody, refers to it as "the fifth trimester". And I love that because I think it really captures that it is this transitional phase. It's really difficult to navigate. So I would say you're not alone. And I always encourage people to think of it as a transition, as a journey, as a phase, and not some. Just to know that.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
That the adjustment's not going to happen overnight. You're not going to go back to work on day one from maternity paternity leave and feel, like, I got this, I can pick up where I left off. That's rarely the case. Often people feel like they're starting over again, like they're starting a new job. It feels kind of like you're new again and you have to get used to things and get into a new rhythm. And that takes time. So I don't necessarily have advice as to how to speed that up, but just to remind people it's okay and it's completely normal. If it's taking you time, that's what's supposed to happen.

Jennifer Norman:
It's funny because on the birth of my son or his birthday, people would often wish me a happy birthday, and I'd be like, oh, it's my son's birthday, not mine. And they're like, no, it's yours too. And it's like the reminder that, like, we are born into new people and new lives once we have a child in our lives. I mean, I don't think it matters if it's the first, the second, or the third. I mean, your life changes after you do and your priorities shift. And to your point, it's normal to feel like once you go back to work, some people are probably like, oh, thank God I get to go back to work. And that's, you know, happy to have, like, their. A sense of, like, what they would might consider normalcy again and something that they're familiar with versus the idea of staying at home with the child.

Jennifer Norman:
And that is fine for some. Others feel extremely guilty about leaving a new child and feel that work is just not as important. And so, yeah, I think that feeling and that emotion that you might carry is very individual for you. And it's not uncommon to have the stress. I mean, I think that's the number one thing parents are. I think it, wasn't it the surgeon general that just declared parenthood as, like, like almost a problem... I can't remember if it was considered, like, a mental health issue, but we're under the most stress of, like, any population. So, yeah, it's very understandable that stress is hard for yourself and it's hard on the relationships.

Jennifer Norman:
A lot of couples find themselves in a whole new kind of a relationship dynamic once they have a child. So I think that a lot of couples worry that their connection is lost, their communication with each other, their roles. They're trying to figure that. How do you guide parents that might be sensing strain in their relationships after having a baby?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
I really encourage couples to talk about it openly and if possible, to start that discussion before the baby comes. Often couples will have an idea. We're going to split. Split roles. Or we're going to do more traditional gender role.

Jennifer Norman:
I'm glad you didn't just say 'we're going to split.'

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
But there's no right or wrong. Every family is different, but usually people. People will start having that conversation. But I really encourage people to kind of have that conversation more seriously before the baby comes because there's going to be a lot more demands on you. So who's going to do grocery shopping? Who's going to stay home from work when the baby's sick? Who's going to do laundry now? Who's going to make the doctor's appointments? Like, there's so many extra tasks to accomplish on a daily, a weekly basis. So if you can have those discussions and really try to outline who's going to do what and how you're going to work together and approach it like a team, I think that's most helpful, helpful. And that's been very helpful for me personally in my relationship too, is trying to have that like, weekly check in as a team. This is what we have going on this week.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
This is what I'm going to do, this is what you're going to do. And just that open line of communication.

Jennifer Norman:
Amazing. Now you founded Phoenix Health because the accessibility just really wasn't there before for a lot of people to seek help. And now that telehealth is more common, it's great for new parents to have a resource that is an option versus attending in person sessions, which might be difficult. Can you tell everybody about Phoenix Health?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah, absolutely. So Phoenix Health is an online mental health practice where we specialize in working with families dealing with everything from prenatal to postpartum mental health concerns. We also work with pregnancy loss and infant loss, infertility and birth trauma. And like I mentioned, all our sessions are online virtually, and all of our providers have training and experience in this area, which I think is something that is very important because I've seen people kind of go towards a more general provider and feel like sometimes they don't get the perinatal aspect of it. Not to say, I mean, there can be many great general providers out there, but I think sometimes you want someone who really can understand and relate to the nuances of what you're going through. So I found personally that that's really important. And I did pivot my practice after I had my own kids and I dealt with postpartum mental health, and I went into treatment and I recovered. I wanted to really shift my work to with families, and I found that there was such a great demand that I couldn't keep up.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
I couldn't answer the phone fast enough, and I felt like there had to be a better way of tackling this. So that led to founding Phoenix Health and having a practice where we can serve families across multiple states and make the care a lot more accessible.

Jennifer Norman:
And so, as I understand it, you're in about 40 states now and growing, Correct?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah.

Jennifer Norman:
Amazing. And some health insurance is also part of the. I guess you also take certain health insurance, too?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
We do, yeah. And we also do offer some sliding scale spots. We really want to make the care accessible for families, and we don't want finances to be a barrier.

Jennifer Norman:
Oh, that's great. So if somebody is interested in hearing or learning more about Phoenix Health, where can they go?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
They can go right to our website. It's joinphoenixhealth.com and it's got all our contact info and information on there.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah. And so tell us about the therapists that are part of the network.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah. So like I mentioned, all of our therapists have experience and training in perimenatal mental health and say they all have also lived experience. And lived experience means they've kind of been through it at some point. They've dealt with it themselves, they've healed, they've recovered and gotten treatment. But we find that that lived experience does kind of help in them relating to clients who are going through this. So, myself included, we're all. Yeah, we're all mothers ourselves.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
So that. I think that helps.

Jennifer Norman:
I think it does, too. It really just improves that sense of empathy and the listening aspect, rather than somebody that's like just kind of surmising or just knows about it from book experience. Yeah, lived experience really speaks volumes.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Yeah. We also like to keep in mind that my lived experience can be very different than your lived experience. So we're very careful about that. But I think some of the core themes of what we all go through as moms often are very similar and overlap. So we just want you to know that we get it. We get it more than just from reading a textbook or taking a class. We personally get it too.

Jennifer Norman:
Amazing. In closing, what is one thing that you wish that every new parent knew about their mental health?

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Oh, that's such a great question. One thing I would like parents to know that I'm going to say this kind of bluntly. I don't mean it so bluntly, but like, your mental health might take a bit of a hit after you have a baby, but there is help out there. So if you are struggling, if you find it difficult, you're not alone. A lot of families, like we say, one in five mothers and one in ten fathers struggle with their mental health after having a baby. So these conditions are common, but there is treatment, there is help out there. So just like we were saying earlier, just seek the help. Try not to let the stigma and all the other things that tell us we should put it off or not do it, get in the way.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Because like, your mental health really is everything. If you don't have that, it's really hard to have anything else. So just to make it a priority.

Jennifer Norman:
Oh, thank you so much. Yes. I love that you are really helping people to understand that the suffering isn't a badge of honor. This is really something that you should be... You deserve that support. You deserve to know that you aren't alone. You deserve to know that once you are in a place where you can better cope with stress, anxiety, depression, all of those things, you and your family, all of your relationships, you and your baby are going to reap so many benefits from that because it'll just be such a better energy all around your environment, your home, and the way that you bring up your child.

Jennifer Norman:
So thank you, Dr. Emily, for being on the podcast today. It was a wonderful conversation.

Dr. Emily Guarnotta:
Thank you so much.

Jennifer Norman:
Wonderful. Thank you for listening to the Human Beauty Movement podcast. Be sure to follow rate and review us wherever you stream podcasts. The Human Beauty Movement is a community based platform that cultivates the beauty of humankind. Check out our workshops, find us on social media and share our inspiration with all the beautiful humans in your life. Learn more at thehumanbeautymovement. Com. Thank you so much for being a beautiful human.

Jennifer Norman: