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At COPE, we believe every parent deserves access to compassionate support and reliable information. Our mission is to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and empower families facing perinatal mental health challenges.
Your support can make a lasting impact. By donating to COPE, you help to provide vital support, resources, and research for families facing perinatal mental health challenges. Together, we can make sure no parent is alone.
Understand when to seek help, how to take the first step of talking to someone, types of support available, plus how to find specialised perinatal mental health support near you.
Finding out you’re pregnant can lead you to experience a wide range of emotions. Here's what you can expect or consider after learning you're pregnant.
For some, learning that you're pregnant will bring feelings of joy and excitement at the prospect of beginning to create new life and welcome a new member to your family and all the changes that it will bring. If your pregnancy was unplanned, finding out you’re pregnant is likely to come as quite a shock. The news may take some time for this to sink in and become a reality.
I was both excited and scared, as I was not emotionally ready for the pregnancy.
As the reality begins to set in, you will start to consider your options. These might include continuing the pregnancy, adoption or termination.
Sharing your thoughts and feelings and seeking guidance about your options can assist to make things seem more real and manageable. So, in this instance, it may be helpful to consider confiding in someone that you trust. In some cases, it may be preferable to talk to someone independent (e.g for religious reasons, family values, perceived judgement from others), like a counsellor or health professional. This allows you to keep the information confidential. It may also give you time to come to terms with the situation and consider what is right for you.
A health professional is also likely to be better equipped to provide you with important, accurate information about your options. They can also guide you through an informed decision-making process.
You can access help for pregnancy decision making and pregnancy support via the COPE Directory. Simply type in your postcode in the box below to find out where you can access this support under Medicare.
I was not planning to get pregnant, so it really came as a shock. I didn’t want to tell anyone about it because I knew they would judge me. Talking to a counsellor who didn’t know me personally helped make it real, and then weigh up my options. It gave me space and time.
For those who may have been trying to become pregnant for some time and/or may have experienced fertility problems, often the joy of finding out you’re pregnant may be mixed with feelings of apprehension – as you hope that the pregnancy continues to progress successfully. While feeling joy and excitement at one level, you may find that you are not allowing yourself to become too attached to the idea or the baby for fear of miscarriage, particularly if this has happened to you previously.
Women who have experienced miscarriages often talk about feeling anxiety symptoms during a later successful pregnancy. It can be useful to discuss this with your health professional if you are feeling this way.
The fact is, there is no right way to feel. How you feel will vary depending on your plans, wishes, previous experiences and your circumstances.
Pregnancy is also a time when there is a greater risk of experiencing emotional and mental health problems – so it’s important to keep check on how you or your partner is travelling as this next stage in your perinatal journey begins.
Having had three miscarriages previous to my one live birth (pregnancy number 4), I was terrified throughout the whole pregnancy of losing the baby. It definitely contributed to me experiencing anxiety in pregnancy.
After achieving a pregnancy after infertility, many hopeful and expectant parents feel a mix of relief, excitement, anxiety and panic.
Pregnancy brings with it lots of new and unexpected changes, all of which can impact on your emotional health in pregnancy.
Parents can have a number of concerns about having a second child, as pregnancy, birth and your parenting experience may be quite different .
Research shows that the identity transformation process in the transition to parenthood may be more stressful & complex for LGBTIQA+ parents.
Helping inform and prepare expectant and new parents for the emotional changes and challenges that can come with pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.
Complete a self-check for depression, anxiety, stress, birth trauma, and nausea and vomiting in pregnancy
Now is a great time to sign up to our free guide, Ready to COPE.
Ready to COPE provides you with supportive weekly updates about your emotional health and mental wellbeing throughout pregnancy and your first year of parenthood.
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