Counseling

For many women, this means a profound challenge and change on a physical, emotional and social level. Their individual lives change, as do their relationships.

Future parents are often confronted with issues that they have never had to deal with before. This can be unsettling, create doubts and questions and lead to crises.

We offer you the opportunity to discuss the questions and issues that concern you in a protected and non-judgemental space.

The birth of a child and the new life as a family is a major developmental challenge. This can lead to conflicts and crises that cannot be overcome alone, despite great efforts. Sometimes there is a lack of information, sometimes you are overwhelmed and no longer know what is most important at the moment. Sometimes you feel anxious or discouraged or you have imagined or desired being a mother, father or parent in a completely different way. Feelings of shame and guilt for your own feelings are often added to this, which makes the situation even more difficult.

Our counselling can be helpful in adopting a different perspective, understanding the meaning of these crises as an opportunity for reorientation, mobilising strength and gaining courage. We see our counselling sessions as short-term support that can help you find your feet in a new life situation.

The birth and the puerperium are ‘done’ and now a new everyday life is slowly developing, which requires an enormous amount of social, financial and emotional adjustment. It is not uncommon to feel overwhelmed. Everyday life with a baby is full of challenges and new questions. Topics such as daycare, everyday work, family organisation, me-time, sexuality and a fair division of care work are becoming increasingly important. Women in particular are faced with an almost unmanageable variety of roles that leave little time for relaxation and slowing down. They are not alone in this.
If you feel overwhelmed and would like support, we would be happy to accompany you.

The birth of a child means a change for every woman. Profound biological, emotional and social changes are challenging. Mood swings, increased sensitivity and vulnerability are completely normal phenomena in the postpartum period. However much the baby may be longed for, the adjustment to life with a child (or another child) takes time. Ambivalent feelings about motherhood are allowed. Many women feel stressed, overwhelmed and tired after giving birth. In our society, being a mother is taken for granted and considered so natural that individual doubts reduce confidence in their own abilities and in their own (self-)love. Feeling guilty and ashamed, few people talk about their experience.

The baby blues is a brief depressive mood that can occur shortly after giving birth or in the first 3-5 days after the birth (50-80% of women experience it). After hours or a few days, feelings such as anxiety, exhaustion, mood swings and impatience subside somewhat and an initial feeling of well-being slowly sets in. The baby blues also subside on their own without treatment. Fathers can also experience symptoms of baby blues.

Postpartum depression occurs in around 10-15% of women, sometimes only a few months after the birth. The causes of postpartum depression are varied (previous depression/anxiety, birth experience, complications during pregnancy, couple relationship, physical causes, perfectionism, social and societal factors).
Unlike the baby blues, the duration is not limited to a few hours or days and the severity of the symptoms is much stronger. It can develop gradually and vary in severity. Signs of a depressive episode after birth can include

– general moodiness,
– inner emptiness, feeling of hopelessness,
– severe sleep disturbances, restlessness,
– constant tiredness or being over-excited,
– strong feelings of guilt, fears,
– social isolation,
– ambivalent feelings towards the child,
– thoughts of harming oneself or the child.

This can be just as challenging for the partner. Fathers can also suffer from postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is easily treatable.

Many of the symptoms of baby blues and postpartum depression are sometimes healthy and natural reactions to a completely new life situation and are therefore understandable. In the counseling setting, we will take a close look at your concerns and decide whether counseling with us is sufficient or whether we can support you in accessing other parts of the help system. For example, we can look together for psychiatric-psychotherapeutic outpatient or inpatient support for mother and child.

Postpartum psychosis – also known as postpartum psychosis – affects 0.1 – 0.2% of all women who have recently given birth. The symptoms of postpartum psychosis develop very abruptly and require immediate action by relatives. Psychosocial counseling is not enough here.
If the woman shows the following signs of illness, seek help immediately:

– Fear of persecution
– Hearing voices
– Phases of very strong agitation
– Imagining/seeing things and events that do not correspond to reality
– Fantasies of omnipotence and rescue
– Serious aggression towards oneself or other people (including the baby)

Don’t wait, call the doctor or the fire department immediately, call the district’s social psychiatric service or the Berlin crisis service, which is staffed around the clock.

When the unthinkable happens …
Losing a child during pregnancy, during or after birth is one of the most painful experiences in a person’s life. The grief for the deceased child and the longed-for family life can develop into a life crisis that can affect all areas. Most people describe this as a tunnel that doesn’t want to end.

In our counseling sessions, you have time for your individual grief. Here you can remember your child, the loss and the happy moments with them. In a protected space, you can explore and better understand the feelings that often accompany it, such as anger, powerlessness, hurt, guilt, fear, etc.