One in four new mums develop mental health issues during pregnancy or a year after birth.1听
Our recent survey of 2,000 new mums shows many are feeling more bombarded than ever with advice on how to bring up their baby, creating a new 'motherload' as two thirds (69%) say it鈥檚 added to 鈥� rather than alleviated 鈥� the pressures of motherhood.
To help them feel that they are not alone navigating this new chapter, we've launched Positive Steps 鈥� a new campaign, sharing powerful, personal stories of other new mums whose experience of therapy helped them. Women from all over the UK have shared their experiences of therapy, to help tackle stigma. You can read their stories in full here.听
How to get help
There are a number of different ways to access therapy.听
You can speak to your GP, health visitor or midwife. They'll know what support is available locally and may be able to refer you to free NHS or other local services, including specialist perinatal or maternal mental health services. You may also be able to self-refer to the NHS鈥檚 Talking Therapies programme.
While you may currently be on maternity leave, you should be able to access therapy through work if this is something that's offered, e.g, through a confidential Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) or they may be able to refer you through an occupational health service.
Some voluntary or community organisations and charities offer free or affordable access to talking therapies, including those specifically for new mums. Our Accredited Services directory or useful links page can help.
You can also pay to see a private 麻豆原创 therapist. This gives you a wider choice, and you may be able to see someone quicker, and perhaps for longer. More than half of the therapist listings on 麻豆原创鈥檚 directory advertise costs of between 拢40 to 拢60 per session Many therapists offer a free introductory session and reduced rates for those on low incomes.
Remember, anyone can call themselves a counsellor or psychotherapist, so it鈥檚 important you choose a therapist who鈥檚 listed on a Professional Standards Authority accredited register 鈥� such as the 麻豆原创 register. Choosing a 麻豆原创-registered counsellor gives you an assurance that they meet the standards of proficiency, training and ethical practice you should expect.
You can find a registered 麻豆原创 using our Therapist directory听- type in your city or postcode to find a therapist near you.听
Finally, it's important to remember that therapy may not always be the answer. Find out more about who to talk to if you or your loved ones are experiencing a mental health crisis.听
1听Department of Health and Social Care figures (2025).
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Mums share their stories
There wasn鈥檛 a specific moment that prompted me to seek help, but a bubbling up of certain dark, vivid thoughts consistently every day. My therapist was amazing. We delved into parts of my life and unlocked things I never even realised were contributing to my negative state of mind.
My health visitor could see something wasn鈥檛 right. She put me in touch with a local charity who provided free counselling. It was a space to talk about what I was going through without any judgement. If it wasn鈥檛 for my health visitor I don鈥檛 think I鈥檇 be here today.
I have only just started therapy. I hadn鈥檛 experienced any trauma in my life so for many years I thought it wasn鈥檛 for me. But already after a couple of sessions, it is massively helping. It gives me a safe space to process my feelings, free from judgement.
It wasn鈥檛 until two and a half years after the birth of my daughter that I decided to get therapy for a completely different issue. But every session brought me back to how awful I felt in those early days. I can鈥檛 praise my therapist enough for how amazing she was.
I felt completely lost in the transition back to work. Once my daughter went to nursery and I went back to work, it really hit me like a wave. I needed someone I didn鈥檛 know to help me through it. My therapist is helping me to feel joy again.
I鈥檝e had a number of different types of therapy over the years. It has been transformative. You鈥檙e not a bad mum for admitting you need help, there is no shame in reaching out to your midwife, doctor or directly to a therapist.
I didn鈥檛 realise that pregnancy could also come with mental health side effects. While the pregnancy anxiety I developed seem to disappear very quickly after birth, it wasn鈥檛 long until new anxieties came along. I was referred to a therapist 鈥� and it was transformational.
In my first session with Mums Aid I went in feeling apprehensive, but once I let my guard down, I realised it was a safe space where I could unpack the weight I had been carrying.
You just try to survive and push a lot of feelings to one side in these scenarios as a mum, but at some point it will consume you like a wave and a therapist can help you get through this.