Core Values, LLC

A NICU stay doesn't end when parents leave the hospital. The emotional weight, anxiety, grief, hypervigilance, and relief all at once, often follows families long after discharge 💚

✳️ Next group meeting: Thursday, June 18 at 6:30 pm Eastern / 3:30 pm Pacific ✳️

PSI's NICU Postpartum Parents support group provides a free, virtual, confidential space for parents of babies who are currently or formerly in the NICU, facilitated by trained PSI volunteers. The group is open to parents of babies up to two years old who experienced a NICU stay for any reason.

PSI Support Groups are online, confidential, and always free 💙

🔗 Register here: https://loom.ly/gxQTq8s

The baby is here. So why don't the bad feelings just... go away?😣

Everyone tells you the hard part is over.

The little one that you waited so long for is finally here. The appointments stopped. The injections stopped. The waiting stopped.

So why do you still flinch at pregnancy announcements? Why does a part of you still brace for bad news?

Why do you feel guilty for not being happy every single second when this is the thing you fought so hard for?

The reason you're still struggling with feelings like sadness, anxiety, bitterness, or resentment is because having your baby doesn't erase what it took to get here.

Your body and your heart spent a long time feeling sadness, fear, stress, bracing for disappointment. They don't always get the memo that it's safe now.

But gratitude and joy can coexist alongside your anxiety and sadness. You can love your child more than anything and still be processing everything it took to hold them.

You're not doing it wrong and you're not ungrateful.

You're a parent who went through something real, and it's okay that you're still feeling it.

Share this or tag a friend in the comments who needs to hear this today. 🫂🧡

📷 Already have photos of your baby but wish they could be gently retouched? NILMDTS offers families the ability to submit their own images for retouching on our website. Because every memory deserves care. Learn more today at http://nowilaymedowntosleep.org/retouching

Supporting meone living with a serious mental illness starts with understanding. Learning about mental health conditions can help you respond with empathy and confidence. Learn more: https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/what-is-mental-health/facts

Mental health touches every one of us either directly or through someone we love. Let’s commit to talking about it with the care and honesty it deserves. https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/what-is-mental-health/facts