Resources

Emergency Help

Your local emergency room

National Suicide Crisis Line: Call 988

Maternal Mental Health hotline 1-833-9-HELP4MOMS (1-833-943-5746) This is a hotline so you will get rapid help, but it is not a crisis line.

Online

Postpartum Support International: for information on PMADs, finding a provider trained in perinatal mental health, peer support, and more, browse Postpartum Support International. They have many wonderful resources, however, PSI does not have a Christian worldview in a number of areas. They have a warmline (a helpline that can take 24 hours to respond): 1-800-944-4773.

Postpartum Progress: many helpful articles on what PMADs are and what healing from them looks like. Her symptom list and FAQs are especially excellent.

Mother to Baby and Infant Risk: resources on medication safety while pregnant or breastfeeding.

The Christian Counseling and Education Foundation has helpful articles on specific mental health disorders and other issues that arise. They also have a way to search for a local biblical counselor.

Suicide Prevention Courses

60 Minute Suicide Prevention Training

How the Church Can Help Prevent Suicide

A few studies and journals on PMADs

Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) (used for diagnosing PPD)

Books for Mom

A Still and Quiet Mind (Esther Smith) on unwanted thoughts

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy (Mark Vroegop) on lament

Even if He Doesn’t (Kristen LaValley) making sense of suffering

Fear and Faith (Trillia Newbell)

Held (Abbey Wedgeworth) on miscarriage

Hope When it Hurts (Wetherell and Walton)

Midnight Mercies (Christine Chappell) on depression in motherhood

Never Cast Out (Jasmine Holmes) on shame

Spurgeon’s Sorrows (Zack Eswine) on depression

The Creaking on the Stairs (Mez McConnell) on childhood abuse, but pertinent to all asking “where is God in my suffering?”

Therefore I Have Hope (Cameron Cole) on fears and when your “worst” happens

This Isn’t What I Expected (Karen Kleiman and Valerie Raskin) on PMADs generally

MiniBooks

(These booklets are excellent, accessible introductions to various topics. They’re a good starting point for understanding what you may be going through and giving you initial spiritual direction.)

OCD (Michael Emlet)

Postpartum Depression (Christine Chappell)

PTSD (Timothy Lane)

Many more topics can be found here, including bipolar, miscarriage, infertility, anxiety, depression, single parenting, healing after an abortion, suicide, sexual assault, and mom guilt, but I have not personally read them.