© 2026 ABC News

\"When I finally had this breakdown and realized I was suffering and this was horrible and I wasn’t even enjoying my time with my daughter, I started to think why did this happen and how did it take me so long to realize this was a problem?,\" she said.

\"There are a lot of ways in which anxiety makes sense when you're a new mother,\" she said. \"But it's very easy to sort of wander over the line and have it become this obsession in women's lives.\"

Physical symptoms can show when a new mom's anxiety has crossed over the line, according to Menkedick.

\"If you're really feeling like you're sweating, your heart rate is going up, you're having these really physical responses to the anxiety, that's a sign that it's probably getting pretty intense,\" she said.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sarah Menkedick (@familiasantiago) on Jan 23, 2020 at 6:48am PST

Other symptoms of postpartum anxiety include changes in eating and sleeping and the inability to sit still, according to the ADAA.

Menkedick says women and their loved ones can also pay attention to their daily activities and habits.

\"Some of the women that I spoke with for the book were spending hours a day preparing their homes, hiding certain objects, cleaning certain things,\" she said. \"SO I think one of the things to really pay attention to is how much time is this consuming, how much of your life is this consuming.\"

\"Are you spending hours on Google? Are you spending hours cleaning? Are you not able to function because these thoughts are so overwhelming?,\" said Menkedick. \"Those are the things to really pay attention to.\"

\"PHOTO:
ABC
PHOTO: Signs of postpartum anxiety.
>

Even through the coronavirus pandemic, as new moms follow stay at home guidelines, Menkedick's advice for moms with postpartum anxiety is to, first, trust themselves and their instincts, and, second, to connect with other women.

\"Certainly for all of the women I talked to, the number one way they found healing is talking to other mothers, saying, 'This is what I’m going through,' and having another woman say, 'Yes, I’m feeling the exact same thing,' and finding some affirmation and solidarity in that,\" she said. \"I think that’s something women can really do now online, or in whatever way possible.\"

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Wellness/moms-speak-postpartum-anxiety-coronavirus-pandemic/story?id=70023567","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/moms-speak-postpartum-anxiety-coronavirus-pandemic-70023567","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"21:51","publishDate":"04-07-2020","updatedTime":"17:26","updatedDate":"08-05-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"Tovah Haim is a mother of two in New York City.","credit":"ABC ","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/mom-abc-rc-200407_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"4/7/2020 21:51:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":70023567,"headline":"Postpartum anxiety during the coronavirus pandemic","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_postpartum anxiety and coronavirus_200407","description":"\"It's just it's kind of like a rolling state of terror.\"","duration":"3:34","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/04/200407_gma_norman1_0820_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["69871187","69951530","70018870"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"April 6, 2020","headline":"Baby dies after mom who tests positive for COVID-19 goes into premature labor","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/infant-dies-testing-positive-coronavirus-susceptible-infants-theyre-69871187","id":69871187,"image":{"alt":"Baby dies after mom who tests positive for COVID-19 goes into premature labor","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/baby-gty-aa-200402_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"April 7, 2020","headline":"Husband holds sign for wife who has to go to chemo alone because of coronavirus","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/husband-holds-sign-wife-chemotherapy-coronavirus-69951530","id":69951530,"image":{"alt":"Husband holds sign for wife who has to go to chemo alone because of coronavirus","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/kelly-conner-01-ht-jef-200402_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Kelly Conner","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"April 7, 2020","headline":"Lilly Pulitzer creates 27,500 mask covers in iconic prints for medical workers ","section":"style","slug":"/style/story/lilly-pulitzer-creates-27500-mask-covers-iconic-prints-70018870","id":70018870,"image":{"alt":"Lilly Pulitzer creates 27,500 mask covers in iconic prints for medical workers ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/lilly-pulitzer1-ht-ml-200407_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Courtesy Lilly Pulitzer","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Postpartum anxiety during the coronavirus pandemic","description":"\"It's just it's kind of like a rolling state of terror.\"","duration":"3:34","uploadDate":"04-07-2020","publication":"04-07-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/04/200407_gma_norman1_0820_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/04/200407_gma_norman1_0820_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/moms-speak-postpartum-anxiety-coronavirus-pandemic-70023567"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133307515","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307527","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133282665","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133220149","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133179167","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144373","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144059","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133143081","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133075455","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133063114","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133063086","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133015093","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998564","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998072","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132977374","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132977531","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132962364","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132958371","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132932494","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132927870","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:wellness:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"wellness","title":"Postpartum anxiety during the coronavirus pandemic","pubTime":"17:51","pubDate":"04-07-2020","modTime":"13:26","modDate":"08-05-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":70023567,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Postpartum anxiety during the coronavirus pandemic","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_postpartum anxiety and coronavirus_200407","videoId":70023567,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/moms-speak-postpartum-anxiety-coronavirus-pandemic-70023567"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/70023567","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/70023567","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};