What if finding the right support during postpartum could change everything? In this episode, we dive into the challenges many new moms face, from physical recovery to emotional well-being, and how a lack of accessible resources often leaves them feeling isolated. Together, we explore ways to prioritize maternal mental health and navigate this pivotal time with the care every mother deserves. 

Creinthea (Cre) Chritz, a psychiatric nurse practitioner and master's-prepared educator, shares about her journey into mental health care, her work with mothers and women across life stages, and how her personal experiences shaped her professional path.

Cre shares her transition from teaching to nursing and her passion for addressing the unique mental health needs of women. She opens up about her own challenges with gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and postpartum anxiety, which inspired her to found Coherent Care Women's and Maternal Wellness. Her practice, based in Denver, Colorado, also serves women in Florida and Iowa, with plans to expand further.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• Cre's personal journey through a high-risk pregnancy and postpartum challenges.

• The importance of maternal mental health care and why it's often overlooked.

• How hormonal shifts during and after pregnancy impact mental health and relationships.

• Strategies for prescribers to ask the right questions and foster trust with patients.

• How Coherent Care offers women-centered mental health care tailored to their unique needs.

• The role of community and non-pharmaceutical resources in supporting maternal mental health.

• The connection between postpartum care, mental health, and intimacy in relationships.

Cre also dives into the stigma women face when seeking help for postpartum mental health concerns and emphasizes the need for open conversations, better assessments, and comprehensive care that includes everything from therapy and medication to support for intimacy and libido changes postpartum.

Key Takeaways:

• Women’s mental health care must address the entirety of their experiences, from adolescence to motherhood and beyond.

• Postpartum issues like anxiety, OCD behaviors, and intrusive thoughts are common and treatable—but often overlooked in assessments.

• It’s vital to normalize seeking help and ensure women have access to compassionate, informed care providers.

• Prescribers and therapists can work together to support women in navigating the fourth trimester and beyond.

Connect with Cre:
www.coherentcare.org
Instagram and Youtube is @coherent_care

Resources Mentioned:

• Coherent Care Women's and Maternal Wellness

• Postpartum Support International (Charleston Chapter)

• Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale

Join us in amplifying the conversation around maternal mental health.