Maternal mental health is a predictable vulnerability due to the inherent nature of motherhood.
Maternal mental health requires understanding and empathy, both preventative and responsive strategies, structural support, and a holistic approach.
I am a mother of two little boys, and it’s my own struggles in motherhood and the resulting implications on my own mental health that compelled me to work with mothers.
Some of us come to motherhood familiar with mental illness, and for some of us, it’s the perinatal experience itself that leads to our first encounter. Some of us are more prone to mental health struggles than others. My husband, for example. Steady as a rock. Cool as a cucumber. He has the same children as me, the same lifestyle, the same constant pile of crumbs on the floor, and he rises to every challenge with equanimity. Whereas I am doing all the things every day to feel balanced, positive, and present.
It takes strength to recognise and communicate that you’re struggling, because mental illness is still somewhat taboo — considered a weakness, a failure, or even dangerous.
And yet, the social systems in which we mother today make that necessary and place the onus on a struggling mother:
We pathologise maternal mental illness, make it a medical problem, and an individual’s burden.
Having worked in this space for five years, I believe that:
What is it?
Mental health exists on a spectrum. It’s not binary — you’re not either fine or broken. Most of us move along that spectrum throughout our lives, and motherhood tends to push us further along it. Mental health refers to our emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing — how we think, feel, and function. Good mental health doesn’t mean feeling happy all the time. It means having the capacity to cope with life’s normal stresses, maintain relationships, and function day to day.
When that capacity becomes consistently compromised, we start to talk about mental illness.
Depression is more than sadness. It’s persistent low mood, loss of interest or pleasure in things you used to enjoy, exhaustion that sleep doesn’t fix, feelings of worthlessness, and in its most serious form, thoughts of self-harm or that life isn’t worth living. In mothers, it often looks like apathy, irritability, and the inability to feel bonded to your baby or present in your own life.
Anxiety is the most common perinatal mental health condition. It’s excessive, persistent worry — a nervous system stuck in threat-detection mode. Racing thoughts, physical tension, difficulty sleeping, and catastrophic thinking.
Other perinatal mental illnesses include trauma and PTSD, psychosis, OCD, and grief.
In Australia, 1 in 5 mothers and 1 in 10 fathers experience perinatal depression or anxiety.
A mother’s mental health doesn’t stay with her. It moves through the family. Maternal depression and anxiety affect child attachment, emotional dysregulation, behavioural difficulties, and mental health challenges later in life.
This is not to burden mothers further. It is to make the point that maternal mental health is intergenerational. Investing in a mother’s mental health is investing in our children.
So many aspects of motherhood impact mental health. Not exactly just a chemical imbalance in the brain.
I never want to add to the load. Think of these as tools in your mental health toolbox — to pick up when you have an opportunity, and to prioritise within your lifestyle, not as tasks on your to-do list. Some aren’t in your control, but knowing they impact your mental health can help you have some self-compassion and potentially create changes to make them more feasible.
As a Perinatal Practitioner, I work with mothers to help make their motherhood better, by giving them language, context, strategies, and practices for the challenging parts of pregnancy, postpartum, and motherhood that can impact mental health.
We cannot separate physical and mental health in motherhood. Pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding place enormous demands on the body. Postnatal depletion is a syndrome caused by nutrient, hormone, stress, and sleep deficiencies that can last for years — it feels like you’re climbing a mountain just to get through the day. I was hospitalised with pregnancy sciatica and could barely walk with pelvic girdle pain, and it took a toll on me mentally. Not feeling confident or capable in your body erodes your sense of self.
I work with mothers in one-on-one yoga coaching to move safely in pregnancy, manage perinatal conditions, and rebuild core and pelvic floor function, strength, and mobility postpartum so they can feel confident and have a physical outlet that supports their fluctuating body.
Matrescence is the developmental process of becoming a mother. Like adolescence, it involves physical, neurological, and social transitions and a profound identity shift. You are no longer who you were, but you are not yet sure who you are now. Without understanding, perspective, and guidance, this in-between place can feel disorienting, shameful, even grief-like. Many mothers describe a loss of self that is deeply destabilising.
I work with mothers in one-on-one motherhood consultations to process those matrescence changes, nurture a sense of self, and find acceptance in the newness.
The mental load is the invisible cognitive labour of managing a household and family — the planning, anticipating, remembering, coordinating, and worrying that largely falls to mothers. It is relentless and it is largely unseen, which means it is undervalued. Over time, it produces burnout — a state of chronic exhaustion, detachment, resentment, and reduced capacity that goes beyond tiredness.
In motherhood consultations, I help mothers make the invisible labour visible, give them language to communicate what they’re carrying to their partner — and navigate the resistance that can come with that — and develop practical strategies to create more domestic equity.
Mothers are led to believe that it’s their responsibility to be mentally well, and if they aren’t, it’s their own problem. But the social systems within which we mother have a huge impact on maternal mental health, and there is enormous scope for improvement. I advocate for:
Motherhood is one of the most significant psychological, physiological, and social transformations a human being can undergo. It is a human experience that requires human support.
Motherhood is hard. Those who are struggling aren’t weak — they’re carrying an unfair burden, often without the support, education, rest, or recognition they require. Then we wonder why maternal mental health is a growing crisis.
My work is built on one belief: that every mother deserves to feel good in her motherhood.
Save the mother, save the world.
PANDA offers a free national helpline for parents navigating perinatal mental health — 1300 726 306, Monday to Saturday, 9am–7:30pm AEST.
Beyond Blue is available around the clock on 1300 22 4636.
And if you’re ready to go deeper — to understand what’s happening and build something sustainable — I’d love to work with you.
We acknowledge the Turrbal people, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live and work in Sandgate, Queensland. We honour their wisdom in nurturing families, supporting mothers, and raising children on this land for generations. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging and recognise their enduring connection to land, waters, and culture, particularly in the sacred role of mothering and community care.
Hayley Tillard Yoga Mother © 2025
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