Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month: Understanding the Overlap Between Perinatal Mental Health and Eating Disorders
May is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month—a time to bring visibility to the emotional and psychological experiences that often go unseen during pregnancy and early motherhood. While conversations around postpartum depression and anxiety have grown, one critical area still remains under-discussed: the connection between the perinatal phase and eating disorders. Despite accessible screening tools for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and eating disorders, they both remain under-identified and under-treated. Physical care and social support typically focuses on the child’s wellbeing, while the mother’s mental health care can go under the radar.
At our practice, we believe that supporting mothers means understanding the full picture—including the nuanced, often invisible struggles that can emerge during this life transition.
The Perinatal Phase: A Time of Increased Vulnerability
The perinatal period (pregnancy through the first year postpartum) is marked by profound physical, emotional, and identity shifts. Hormonal changes, body transformation, sleep disruption, and shifting roles can create the perfect storm for mental health challenges.
With all the rapid changes, individuals with a history of eating disorders—or even those without prior diagnoses—this period can have increased vulnerability to:
Restrictive eating or loss of appetite
Binge eating or emotional eating patterns
Heightened body image distress due to changes or overstimulation
Increased need for control during a time that feels unpredictable
Pregnancy and postpartum experiences often place intense focus on the body—its size, shape, and function—which can re-activate or intensify eating disorder symptoms. For some, the loss of control over their body can feel distressing. For others, the pressure to “bounce back” postpartum can fuel harmful behaviors.
Eating disorder symptomatology during the perinatal period is frequently obscured by overlapping features of pregnancy and postpartum adjustment. For example:
Appetite fluctuations may be attributed solely to pregnancy or post-partum related changes
Weight and shape concerns may be minimized due to sociocultural expectations
Managing pregnancy or post-partum related conditions such as gestational diabetes adds a complex layer to detecting an eating disorder
The Invisible Mental Load of Motherhood
Beyond the physical and hormonal changes, new mothers carry an often invisible—but incredibly heavy—mental load. The “mental load” of motherhood—defined as the ongoing, often invisible responsibility of anticipating, organizing, and managing caregiving and household demands—has meaningful impacts on a mother's wellbeing. New mothers are adjusting to this load all while sleep deprived and attempting to recover physically.
The mental load includes:
Constant planning and anticipating emotional and physical needs
Tracking feeding schedules, sleep,medication, and developmental milestones
Managing household responsibilities
Navigating societal expectations of “good motherhood”
Holding emotional space for their child while often neglecting their own needs
This cognitive and emotional labor can feel relentless and unending. When combined with perfectionism, high self-expectations, or a tendency toward overcontrol (common traits among those with eating disorders), the mental load can become overwhelming. Mothers can start to feel an immense sense of failure, guilt or shame from having to shoulder these burdens. Food, body image, and control can become coping mechanisms in an attempt to manage this pressure.
On a Related Note: Mothers Whose Children Are Struggling
For some mothers, the challenge extends beyond their own mental health. Watching a child struggle with an eating disorder can be deeply distressing, often bringing feelings of fear, guilt, confusion, and helplessness.
Mothers in this position are often carrying dual emotional burdens:
Supporting their child through recovery
Managing their own internal reactions and possible personal history with food and body image
This is a uniquely complex experience—and one that requires specialized, compassionate support. Our therapists are experienced in providing support to mothers who are supported their child through an eating disorder, providing you information, guidance and emotional support while your child recovers.
How Our Practice Supports Mothers
At our practice, we recognize that maternal mental health is not one-size-fits-all. Our team includes specialized providers with advanced training in both perinatal mental health and eating disorders, allowing us to offer truly integrated care. We emphasize a multidisciplinary model of care that includes collaboration with medical providers, dietitians, and psychiatrists when appropriate.
We support:
Mothers in the perinatal phase
Navigating body image changes during pregnancy and postpartum
Managing anxiety, depression, and overwhelm
Healing relationships with food and body
Processing identity shifts and the transition into motherhood
Mothers with a history of eating disorders
Preventing relapse during vulnerable periods
Building sustainable coping strategies
Increasing self-compassion and flexibility
Mothers supporting a child with an eating disorder
Gaining tools to effectively support their child
Processing emotional responses and reducing caregiver burnout
Strengthening communication and family dynamics
Receiving a space that is just for them
We approach this work with deep respect for the complexity of motherhood. Our care is collaborative, evidence-based, and rooted in compassion.
You Are Not Alone
Maternal mental health challenges—especially those involving eating disorders—can feel isolating and difficult to name. But they are more common than many realize, and support is available.
This Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month, we invite you to expand the conversation and care for the ones who care for all of us:
To include the realities that are harder to talk about
To acknowledge the invisible weight mothers carry
To prioritize care not just for children—but for mothers themselves
Because when mothers are supported, families thrive. If you are a mother who needs support, reach out to us!