Perinatal mental health is getting more attention, but general mental health training doesn't prepare you to spot what makes perinatal mood and anxiety disorders different. What gets missed in that gap can be serious.

In this episode, Rebecca is joined by perinatal psychotherapist Gaby Beaujeu for the show's first guest conversation, exploring what perinatal mental health actually covers and why specialisation matters. They talk through how far the perinatal window really stretches, from fertility and pregnancy to years after birth, why intrusive thoughts and anxiety look different in the postpartum period, and how the quality of our questions, including how we ask about suicidal thoughts, shapes what a client feels safe to share. Gaby also shares her own lived experience of postpartum psychosis, what excellent care looked like for her family, and why partners are so often left out of the picture. 

Gaby Beaujeu is a perinatal psychotherapist at Mindful Roots Counseling, a Gottman-certified couples therapist, and part of PMHI's clinical training team, where she is also community coordinator.

If you're newer to perinatal work, the free PMADs training below is a good place to start. 

Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode, and share this one with someone in a client's village.

Links & resources mentioned

Free PMADs Training: https://learn.perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/free-pmads-training

Mindful Roots Counseling: https://mindfulrootscounselling.com/

PMHI website: https://perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/

Disclaimer: Perinatal in Practice is intended for professional education purposes only. It does not constitute clinical advice or supervision, and does not replace your own professional judgment or your organisation's protocols.

🎵 Theme music: Hopeful Horizons by Justin Lee

And when you’re ready to transform your Perinatal Practice with evidence-based Training & Community:

🟢 Join the PMHI Community Hub: https://perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/communityhub 

Almost every parent worries. Perinatal anxiety is something different, and knowing how to tell the two apart changes what you do next.

In the first episode of Perinatal in Practice, Rebecca lays out how to distinguish the normal uptick in worry that comes with pregnancy and new parenthood from a perinatal anxiety disorder. She explains why anxiety naturally increases during this period, from an evolutionary and neurological standpoint, and walks through three practical questions professionals can use with clients: is the worry proportional to the situation, what's the impact across physical, cognitive, behavioural and emotional areas, and does it respond to reassurance. It's a framework for telling when someone needs normalising and information, and when they need more targeted support.

Links & resources mentioned

• Introduction to Perinatal Mental Health: https://www.perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/intro-course-information
• Beyond Normal Worry: Recognizing and Supporting Health Anxiety in the Perinatal Period: https://perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/product-details/product/w-health-anxiety-flynn 
• Aren't Mums Meant to Worry? Understanding Perinatal OCD: https://perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/product-details/product/w-ocd-reddin

Disclaimer: Perinatal in Practice is intended for professional education purposes only. It does not constitute clinical advice or supervision, and does not replace your own professional judgment or your organisation's protocols.

🎵 Theme music: Hopeful Horizons by Justin Lee

And when you’re ready to transform your Perinatal Practice with evidence-based Training & Community:

🟢 Take the FREE FREE PMADS TRAINING - Symptoms and Screening for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders: https://learn.perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/free-pmads-training

🟢 Join the PMHI Community Hub: https://perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/communityhub 

Postpartum psychosis is having a moment in the media, and most of what gets said about it is wrong on the two points that matter most: how rare it actually is, and what it has to do with how someone feels about becoming a mother. Neither is what you'd think.

In this episode, Rebecca gives a clearer, more accurate picture of postpartum psychosis: why "rare" is the wrong word for something that affects one to two in every thousand births, why it's a physiological complication of pregnancy rather than a reflection of someone's mental state or fitness as a mother, and what it actually sounds and looks like in the room. She walks through the early indicators that often get missed, the inability or lack of need for sleep, shifting mood, that unsettling sense from family that "something's not quite right", alongside the core symptoms of delusions and hallucinations, and what a client or their family member might actually say to you. She also covers what to do the moment you suspect psychosis is on board: this is a psychiatric emergency, not a follow-up appointment.

Rebecca references the postpartum psychosis discussion tool from Postpartum Support International as a starting point for the questions to ask a client or family member you're concerned about. Use it as your next check when something doesn't feel right. If this episode gave you something useful, subscribe so you don't miss the next piece of the puzzle, and share it with someone else who's part of a client's village.

Links & resources mentioned
Postpartum Psychosis Discussion Tool (Postpartum Support International): https://postpartum.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/PPP-Discussion-Tool_PSI_4.2025.pdf

PMHI website: https://perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/

Perinatal OCD Versus Postpartum Psychosis: Recognition, Risk, and Response (Expert Training with Gaby Beaujeu, PMH-C Certified Psychotherapist): https://perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/product-details/product/w-ocd-beaujeu

Disclaimer: Perinatal in Practice is intended for professional education purposes only. It does not constitute clinical advice or supervision, and does not replace your own professional judgment or your organisation's protocols.

🎵 Theme music: Hopeful Horizons by Justin Lee


And when you’re ready to transform your Perinatal Practice with evidence-based Training & Community:
🟢 Take the FREE FREE PMADS TRAINING - Symptoms and Screening for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders: https://learn.perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/free-pmads-training
🟢 Join the PMHI Community Hub: https://perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/communityhub 

Birth plans get all the attention. Postpartum planning gets almost none and that gap is where a lot of avoidable conflict and confidence loss shows up in the fourth trimester.

In this episode, Rebecca breaks down why postpartum planning deserves the same attention as birth planning, and how to introduce it with clients without it feeling like one more task on their list. She covers the confidence dip that almost every new parent experiences, why unspoken expectations are one of the biggest drivers of postpartum conflict, and the practical areas: sleep, food, support and division of labour, that a good postpartum plan should cover. Rebecca also shares a free postpartum planning tool professionals can use directly with clients, including a discussion guide and a written plan template.

Download the postpartum planning tool and use it with your next client session. If this episode gave you something useful, subscribe so you don't miss the next one, and share it with someone else who's part of a client's village.

Links & resources mentioned

• Postpartum Planning Tool (discussion guide + written plan template): https://www.perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/postpartumplanningtool-683156
• PMHI website: https://perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/

Disclaimer: Perinatal in Practice is intended for professional education purposes only. It does not constitute clinical advice or supervision, and does not replace your own professional judgment or your organisation's protocols.

🎵 Theme music: Hopeful Horizons by Justin Lee

And when you’re ready to transform your Perinatal Practice with evidence-based Training & Community:

🟢 Take the FREE FREE PMADS TRAINING - Symptoms and Screening for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders: https://learn.perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/free-pmads-training

🟢 Join the PMHI Community Hub: https://perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/communityhub 

Welcome to Perinatal in Practice, the podcast for professionals working alongside people on the journey to parenthood.

Whether you're a therapist, midwife, doula, lactation consultant, health visitor, GP, or nurse, if you work with pregnant people, new parents, or families in the perinatal period, this show was made for you.

Hosted by Rebecca Reddin, chartered psychologist and founder of the Perinatal Mental Health Institute (PMHI), Perinatal in Practice delivers practical perinatal mental health education in short, accessible episodes built to fit into your working day. Real insight you can bring into your next appointment.

What to expect:

Each week, you'll get a focused episode covering a practical tip, clinical tool, or piece of understanding relevant to your work with clients in the perinatal period, from fertility and pregnancy through to birth and postpartum. Once a month, we go a little deeper with a guest or roundtable episode exploring something more complex.

This podcast is professional education for anyone who wants to feel more confident and competent supporting perinatal mental health, whatever your discipline.

You are already part of someone's village. Let us be part of yours.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so you never miss an episode.

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And when you’re ready to transform your Perinatal Practice with evidence-based Training & Community:

🟢 Take the FREE FREE PMADS TRAINING - Symptoms and Screening for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders: https://learn.perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/free-pmads-training

🟢 Join the PMHI Community Hub: https://perinatalmentalhealthinstitute.com/communityhub  

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Disclaimer: Perinatal in Practice is intended for professional education purposes only. It does not constitute clinical advice or supervision, and does not replace your own professional judgment or your organisation's protocols.

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🎵  Theme music: Hopeful Horizons by Justin Lee