Break Free from Maternal Anxiety : A Self-Help Guide for Pregnancy, Birth and the First Postnatal Year

Severe anxiety affects many women during pregnancy and after birth. This book will help you understand anxiety and guide your recovery using easy-to-follow evidence-based techniques. With clear examples and practical exercises to move through at your own pace, it provides the tools to help you move forward and enjoy parenthood.

Severe anxiety affects a huge number of women in pregnancy and the postnatal period, making a challenging time even more difficult. You may be suffering from uncontrollable worries about pregnancy and birth, distressing intrusive thoughts of accidental or deliberate harm to the baby, or fears connected to traumatic experiences. This practical self-help guide provides an active route out of feeling anxious. Step-by-step, the book teaches you to apply cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) techniques in the particular context of pregnancy and becoming a new parent in order to overcome maternal anxiety in all its forms. Working through the book you will gain understanding of your anxiety and how factors from the past and present may be playing a role in how you feel. Together with practical exercises and worksheets to move through at your own pace, you will gain the tools you need to help you move forward and enjoy parenthood.