Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) affect approximately one in five new birthing parents, predominantly mothers. PMADs encompass a range of mental health conditions that can occur during pregnancy or postpartum. These include depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and, in rare cases, psychosis. Based on the responses from over 1000 caregivers in our study with Nested and New York University, PMADs remain shrouded in social stigma, preventing individuals from seeking and receiving support.

One of the most significant contributors to this stigma is the idealized image of motherhood. Society often portrays new mothers as glowing with happiness and effortlessly bonding with their newborns. Yet, as author Chelsea Conaboy writes, the brain is re-wired among both birthing and non-birthing parents to take care of the baby even when one does not feel drawn to them. Nature has figured out a way to deal........

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