Neurodivergent Moms Need and Deserve Better Postpartum Support
When you’re a neurodivergent mom (ADHD, autistic, anxious), the postpartum experience can hit you like a bag of potatoes and too many of us are stumbling through it without even a warning, let alone support. Too often, a neurodivergent brain goes hand in hand with postpartum depression and anxiety.
SO WHY IS NOBODY TALKING ABOUT IT?
ADHD, Autism, and Postpartum Anxiety
Neurodivergent moms struggle with regulating emotions, time management, and organization, among other things. Add sleep deprivation, nutritional deficiencies, and the constant demands of a new baby to a body that's healing and changing, and you have a perfect recipe for burnout, self-doubt, and, yes, postpartum anxiety.
Many Moms Don’t Realize They Have ADHD or Autism
Many of us don't know we have spicy brains because we've learned to mask our symptoms to blend in with the neurotypicals. We've adapted and survived in a system that wasn't built for us, which means extra emotional labor and always feeling "less than." We’ve flown under the radar because it’s only recently that people even knew women and girls could be ADHD or autistic.
This Needs to Change
ND moms aren’t just dealing with the regular postpartum “stuff.” We’re living with a neurotype that doesn’t align with mainstream parenting expectations. This system isn’t built for us, and that’s why we struggle. In other words, it’s not us; it’s them. The truth is, we experience pregnancy, birth, and postpartum differently, so ND moms need support designed specifically for brains.
Take Back Your Postpartum
If you’re an ADHD, autistic, or anxious mom, you don’t have to white-knuckle through the perinatal period alone. Find people who get it— whether that’s a therapist, a coach (like me), or a support group (like the one I facilitate.)
There are resources and tools out here, you just have to know where to find them! I can help with that, too.
You absolutely can be the calm, happy mom you want to be. The right support and community can make a huge difference. Just because you’re neurodivergent doesn’t mean you can’t manage motherhood; it just means you’ve got to do it a little bit differently than everyone else.
XO
