Pregnancy, Fertility & Postpartum Counseling
in Chesterfield & St. Louis, MO

Reproductive and maternal mental health encompasses far more than postpartum depression.

Your emotional well-being can be affected throughout the entire experience of trying to conceive, pregnancy, birth, postpartum recovery, and becoming a parent.

​

You may be navigating:

• Trying to conceive

• Infertility or fertility challenges

• IVF or other fertility treatments

• Pregnancy loss

• Anxiety during pregnancy

• A difficult or complicated pregnancy

• Fear surrounding childbirth

• A difficult or unexpected birth experience

• Postpartum anxiety

• Postpartum depression

• Changes in identity

• Relationship stress

• Overwhelm and mental load

• Adjusting to motherhood

• Returning to work after having a baby

• Grief surrounding an experience that didn't go as planned

​

You don't have to wait until you're in crisis before reaching out.

Sometimes therapy is simply a place to talk honestly about an experience that can be difficult to explain to everyone else.

Fertility & Infertility Counseling

Trying to become pregnant can become emotionally exhausting when things don't happen as quickly or easily as expected.

​

Month after month may begin to feel like a cycle of hope, waiting, and disappointment.

​

If you're undergoing fertility treatment, your life may also begin revolving around appointments, medications, procedures, decisions, and test results.

​

Meanwhile, it can seem like everyone around you is announcing pregnancies.

You may experience anxiety, grief, anger, jealousy, guilt, frustration, or isolation.

​

Therapy can provide emotional support as you navigate:

• Fertility testing and treatment

• IVF or IUI

• Unsuccessful treatment cycles

• Difficult treatment decisions

• Pregnancy announcements and social situations

• Relationship stress

• Uncertainty about the future

• Changes in intimacy

• Grief and disappointment

• Questions about your path toward parenthood

​

You can be hopeful and exhausted at the same time.

There is room for both.

Counseling During Pregnancy

Pregnancy can bring excitement and anticipation, but it can also create new fears.

​

You may worry about your baby's health, your changing body, childbirth, becoming a parent, your relationship, your career, or how your life is about to change.

​

If you've previously experienced infertility, pregnancy loss, a complicated pregnancy, or another difficult experience, pregnancy may feel especially uncertain.

​

You may find yourself:

• Constantly worrying something will go wrong

• Feeling anxious before appointments

• Overanalyzing physical sensations

• Struggling with body changes

• Feeling emotionally overwhelmed

• Having difficulty enjoying your pregnancy

• Worrying about childbirth​

• Questioning whether you're ready to become a parent

​

Therapy can help you process these emotions without the expectation that pregnancy has to feel joyful every moment.

Support After Pregnancy Loss

Pregnancy loss can bring a form of grief that others don't always understand.

You may be grieving your pregnancy while also grieving the future you had already begun imagining.

​

Friends and family may not know what to say.

Your partner may process the loss differently.

​

And you may feel pressure to move forward before you're ready.

​

Counseling can provide a private space to process sadness, anger, guilt, fear, uncertainty, and the complicated emotions that can follow pregnancy loss.

​

There is no universal timeline for grief.

Your experience deserves to be acknowledged.

Postpartum Anxiety & Depression

After having a baby, much of the attention naturally shifts toward your newborn.

But your mental health still matters.

​

Some women experience persistent sadness or depression after birth. Others struggle more with anxiety, racing thoughts, irritability, guilt, emotional numbness, or a constant feeling that something could go wrong.

​

You may wonder:

"Why can't I relax?"

"Why don't I feel like myself?"

"Why am I so overwhelmed?"

"Why do I feel guilty when I need time away?"

"Why isn't motherhood feeling the way I expected?"

​

​

Postpartum mental health challenges can look different for every woman.

You don't have to compare your experience to someone else's before deciding whether you deserve support.

When Motherhood Changes Your Identity

Becoming a mother changes more than your daily routine.

It can change the way you see yourself.

​

You may deeply love your child while still missing your independence, career, friendships, relationship, hobbies, or the version of yourself you were before becoming a parent.

​

That can create guilt.

But loving motherhood and missing parts of your previous life are not mutually exclusive.

​

Therapy can help you explore questions like:

Who am I outside of being a mom?

How do I make space for myself again?

What do I need in this stage of my life?

How has motherhood changed my relationships and priorities?

You don't necessarily need to "find your old self."

​​

You may be learning how to understand and care for the person you're becoming.

Relationships After Having a Baby

Pregnancy and parenthood can create significant changes within relationships.

Sleep deprivation, new responsibilities, financial pressure, physical recovery, intimacy changes, parenting decisions, and an increased mental load can all create tension.

You may feel like you're communicating less.

Or that every conversation revolves around your child.

One partner may feel overwhelmed while the other doesn't know how to help.

Lumen provides both individual therapy and couples counseling in Chesterfield and St. Louis, allowing you to explore relationship changes and determine what kind of support best fits your needs.

How Can Pregnancy & Postpartum Therapy Help?

Therapy is personalized to your experiences, concerns, and goals.

Counseling may help you:

• Manage anxiety and overthinking

• Process fertility challenges

• Navigate pregnancy-related fears

• Work through pregnancy loss

• Adjust to motherhood

• Explore postpartum anxiety or depression

• Process a difficult pregnancy or birth

• Navigate identity changes

• Establish healthier boundaries

• Address relationship changes

• Work through guilt or perfectionism

• Manage overwhelm and stress

• Reconnect with yourself

You don't need to know exactly what you need from therapy before beginning.

Sometimes the first step is simply having somewhere to talk.