You thought the worry would fade by now.
Maybe your baby is six months old. Or nine. Maybe they just celebrated their first birthday. People around you assume you’ve “settled in” to parenthood, maybe even told you that you should be sleeping more, worrying less, and enjoying every minute.
But internally? You still feel like your nervous system is stuck in high alert. You check on your baby constantly. Your mind spins out with “what if” scenarios about milestones, feeding, sleep, and safety. You love your child deeply… and yet it feels like motherhood cracked something open inside you that hasn’t fully settled.
If this sounds familiar, you may be experiencing postpartum anxiety. And no matter how far out you are from your birth, this experience is real, valid, and treatable.
Postpartum anxiety (PPA) is a mental health condition that involves persistent worry, fear, and tension after the birth of a baby. It affects up to 1 in 5 new mothers, yet often goes undiagnosed because it’s less talked about than postpartum depression.
Unlike the “baby blues” that usually lift after a few weeks, PPA can last for months—or even longer—without support. And while it often shows up early on, it can also begin months after birth, triggered by a developmental milestone or a shift in routine.
Postpartum anxiety isn’t about being overly cautious. It’s about how deeply your mind and body are trying to stay in control, to keep your baby safe, even at the expense of your own peace.
There’s a common belief that postpartum is just the first few months after birth. But that window is misleading, especially when it comes to your mental health.
Here’s the truth: if you’re still breastfeeding, your body is still postpartum. Hormones like prolactin and oxytocin remain active in your system, affecting your mood, sleep, and emotional regulation. And even if you’ve weaned, your nervous system may still be carrying the imprint of months (or years) of vigilance, identity shifts, and disrupted sleep.
So if your baby is 7 months, or 13 months, or 18 months old and you’re still feeling anxious, you’re not “behind.” You’re human. And you're not alone.
Postpartum anxiety doesn’t always stay the same. It shapeshifts as your baby grows.
At 4 months, you might have been afraid of sleep regressions.
At 6 months, it’s starting solids—will they choke? Are you behind?
At 9 or 12 months, you might spiral over their motor development, daycare germs, or nap schedules.
You may find yourself researching endlessly, comparing your baby’s progress to charts or social media. Even moments of joy can be clouded by the sense that something bad could happen, because that’s what anxiety does. It interrupts. It warns. It tries to prepare you.
But instead of helping you feel more in control, it keeps you on edge.
Postpartum anxiety often comes with a powerful inner voice. It might sound like:
This voice is loud. But it’s not you. It’s your body and brain trying to protect what you love most—your child—without realizing it’s running you ragged in the process.
You don’t have to live like this.
Perinatal therapy is designed to meet you exactly where you are, whether your baby is 3 weeks old or 13 months. Therapy with Dr. Jen offers a safe space to slow down, explore your fears without judgment, and learn tools to manage the intensity.
In our work together, we may use:
We also hold space for your story, not just the anxiety symptoms, but the parts of you that got lost in the transition to parenthood. Because postpartum anxiety isn’t just about fear, it’s often tangled with identity loss, perfectionism, grief, and overwhelm.
Anxiety doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. It means your body is trying to keep up with everything you’ve been through.
From pregnancy to birth to feeding and sleep deprivation… to constant decision-making and identity shifts, your nervous system has been on for a long time. Therapy is one way to begin easing that load.
So whether your child is 3 months, 9 months, or 2 years old, if you're still feeling anxious, still waiting for that moment when you “feel like yourself again,” please know that support is available. You deserve care, too.
If you're a therapist supporting postpartum clients, remember: anxiety doesn’t always show up loudly. Sometimes it hides in research, in responsibility, in high-functioning parenting.
Give your clients space to grieve what they expected, to name what feels too much, and to slowly come home to themselves. Postpartum support isn’t just short-term. Sometimes it needs to stretch further, and that’s okay.
