Maternal Mental Health 2026… A Closing

As Maternal Mental Health Month comes to a close, I want us all to take a moment to honor ourselves for all we do for our children and families—with grace and self-compassion instead of judgment and criticism. Maternal mental health isn’t only about recognizing postpartum depression or anxiety—it’s also about how we care for ourselves in the ordinary, messy, emotionally demanding moments of motherhood. And one of the most powerful ways to protect our mental health is through self-compassion. Self-compassion is, to put it simply, talking to ourselves like we’d talk to a friend. Like anything, it is a skill that needs to be practiced; it does not often come easy to us. Below are 2 strategies to get you started. 

1. Give yourself a pep talk. 

   • Get some paper or pull up a note on your phone; give yourself a pep talk for something that feels especially hard for you right now. Really imagine what it is that you’d say to your best friend if she were coming to you with this same difficulty. If it feels awkward that’s okay–sometimes we are having a reaction to the vulnerability it takes to give ourselves all the love. Give yourself a distraction break after to let those feelings of vulnerability settle.

2. Go from I to We.

   • The next time you catch yourself thinking, I'm such a bad mom or spiraling about whether you're doing enough, try replacing I with we. We worry about our kids because we love them deeply. We second-guess ourselves because we care. We are all harder on ourselves than we would ever be on another mom. Take a moment to notice how your body responds when you remember you're part of a much larger community of mothers navigating the same fears, doubts, and hopes. Self-compassion doesn't erase difficult feelings—it simply reminds us that we don't have to carry them alone.

To every mom carrying invisible burdens: you are allowed to care for yourself with the same compassion you so freely give others.

You are human.
You are learning.
You are worthy of gentleness, too.

And perhaps this is where healing begins.

With loving compassion,

Emily Lyon, LISW-S, PMH-C