Perinatal Mental Health, Birth Trauma & Support with Paige Head of Crescent Counseling & Consulting LLC
In this guest episode of the podcast, I’m joined by Paige Head, licensed professional counselor and owner of Crescent Counseling & Consulting, to talk candidly about postpartum mental health, birth trauma, expectations versus reality, and what meaningful support for mothers actually looks like.
This is a longer, conversational episode, and I highly recommend listening in full. The transcript below is a summary of our conversation.
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About Today’s Guest
Paige Head, LPC is the owner of Crescent Counseling & Consulting LLC, where she works primarily with women in all phases of motherhood from trying to conceive, to pregnancy, to postpartum and beyond. Paige is specially trained in perinatal mental health. She offers both therapy and consulting services for women seeking education, support, and care around perinatal mood disorders.
Summarized Episode Transcript
Mannah:
Welcome, Paige. We’re so happy to have you here. Tell us a little bit about yourself, your business, and how you got into this work.
Paige:
Yeah, absolutely. My name is Paige, and I’m the owner of Crescent Counseling and Consulting. I feel very called to work with pre- and postpartum women - women in all phases of motherhood. Some of my clients are trying to conceive, some have experienced loss, some are pregnant, and some are postpartum.
I’m also a mom of three boys. I’ve always been a trauma therapist and worked with children, but after my first birth, which was traumatic and followed by postpartum depression and anxiety, my work began to shift. My second birth experience was very different, largely because of the support and knowledge I had access to the second time around.
That contrast made it clear to me that this was my calling: to support women, make meaning from my own experiences, and help other mothers feel less alone.
Mannah:
When you were pregnant with your first, what did you anticipate would be the hardest part mentally?
Paige:
Honestly? I had no idea. My expectations were shaped mostly by media portrayals of birth and what wasn’t talked about by friends. I was most afraid of the physical pain and things like needles - I didn’t prepare at all for postpartum or what came after birth.
Nursing, emotional adjustment, mental health struggles - none of that was on my radar. There’s such a tension between wanting to prepare women honestly and not wanting to scare them, and I think that silence can actually be more harmful.
Mannah:
What do you see as the biggest factors contributing to struggles women face—whether trying to conceive, during pregnancy, or postpartum?
Paige:
Two things come up again and again: expectations and support.
Unrealistic or rigid expectations about conception, pregnancy, birth, or postpartum can lead to a deep sense of failure when things don’t go as planned. I was very type-A, very prepared, and when none of it happened the way I envisioned, I internalized that as personal failure.
The second piece is support. I didn’t know about lactation consultants, doulas, or the broader birth support network with my first. With my second, that knowledge changed everything. Support or lack of it makes a profound difference.
Mannah:
How can women prepare well while also surrendering control and staying flexible?
Paige:
Preparation is not the problem. Rigid attachment to outcomes is.
If I could talk to my first-time-mom self, I’d say: you’re allowed to want things—and you’re also allowed to breathe. When I didn’t allow space for flexibility, the experience felt like failure instead of disappointment. And it’s okay to grieve when birth doesn’t look the way you hoped.
Trauma isn’t about what happened on paper—it’s about how your nervous system experienced it.
Mannah:
Can you talk about postpartum mood disorders and what moms should know?
Paige:
There’s a difference between the baby blues and postpartum mood disorders like postpartum depression, anxiety, or psychosis. Duration and severity matter. If symptoms persist or interfere with daily functioning, that’s a sign to seek support.
I always recommend working with someone trained in perinatal mental health. The certification to look for is PMH-C, through Postpartum Support International (PSI).
PSI is an incredible resource—they offer provider directories, support groups, education, and even scholarships for mental health care.
Paige:
One thing I wish had been different for me was how postpartum screening was handled. I filled out a questionnaire at my six-week visit, was told I had severe postpartum depression, and was immediately offered medication without any real conversation or referral.
That experience delayed my healing. What I needed was care, education, and support—not dismissal.
Mannah:
If you could leave listeners with one faith-based takeaway from your experience, what would it be?
Paige:
During postpartum, nighttime was the hardest for me. A close friend once said, “Morning always comes.” That became everything to me. It reminded me that God sees the end of this—even when I can’t.
That phrase became the heart of my business and my healing. Morning always comes.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Resources Mentioned:
Crescent Counseling & Consulting
Postpartum Support International (PSI): https://www.postpartum.net
Find a Perinatal Mental Health Provider (PMHC): https://www.postpartum.net/get-help/provider-directory/
The Climb – North Georgia (June 7, Fowler Park, Cumming, GA)
Victoria Hefton - Lillidale Designs CoIf this episode resonated with you, I encourage you to listen to the full conversation and share it with another mom who might need it. These stories matter and they remind us we’re not alone.
