Childbirth is an intense and powerful experience that can deeply affect women, especially when it doesn't go as planned. Intense and traumatic births can leading to feelings of distress, with about 9% of new mothers experiencing postpartum PTSD. While these experiences can be challenging, postpartum PTSD is a temporary and treatable condition. Postpartum mental health support is available.

The sound of a child crying naturally prompts a physiological and protective response. However, when these reactions are too frequent, they can lead to "empathic over-arousal," where a mother's excessive empathy and stress in response to her child's distress can negatively impact her mental health and well-being.