Maternal Mental Health Journal ​Prompts 

 

I have developed over 100 journal prompts based on both my personal and professional experience of supporting new mothers through this transition. 

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Motherhood is not experienced in a vacuum, but within the context of our existing lives, relationships, and personal experiences of grief, trauma, loss, and shame.

 

These aren’t gratitude journal prompts, and there is no expectation from me to focus only on the positives. Instead, the aim is to deepen your understanding of who you are and the personal, subjective nature of motherhood, while exploring changing identity, challenging life experiences, relationships, and the impact of grief, trauma, and adjustment throughout your life.

 

Studies on expressive writing suggest that regular journaling may improve psychological wellbeing by providing an outlet for stress and emotion, supporting emotional regulation, and helping to process difficult or challenging experiences.

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Journaling does not replace professional therapy services, medical advice, or practical and emotional support.

 

However, it can be used alongside therapy or as a way for those who cannot access, or do not desire, traditional talking therapies to still benefit from developing self-awareness and a deeper understanding of themselves during this stage of life.

 

If you are struggling at any stage, please do not hesitate to reach out for help. Your GP, midwife, or health visitor may be able to explore options for support and signpost you to other local services.

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Write without expectation or agenda, and work with whatever emerges. The journal prompts are designed to get you started, but you may find that one prompt leads to further ideas and exploration. There is no right or wrong way to journal. You can complete the prompts in order, prioritise certain questions, or choose a prompt at random. The only interpretation of each question that matters is your own.

 

Exploring Life Transitions. 

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• What are, or what were, your expectations of motherhood? (You may want to break this down into specific areas, for example; trying to conceive, pregnancy, birth and feeding).

• List some of your hopes for motherhood.

• How has the reality of motherhood differed from your expectations?

• What have you lost in motherhood?

• What have you gained in motherhood?

• How are you changed by motherhood?

• What motivated you to become a mother? (If motherhood wasn’t a choice, or decision you made, explore your response and experience).  

• How have you experienced this transition to motherhood?

• Does the transition to motherhood remind you of any other time in your life?

• What was adolescence like for you?

• What significant experiences stand out for you from adolescence?

• What significant experiences stand out for you from childhood?

• What significant experiences stand out for you from early adulthood?

• What experiences stand out for you from motherhood?

• How have any significant childhood, teenage and early adult life experiences influence your experience of motherhood?

• How were your mood and mental health during adolescence and early adulthood?

• Are there any similarities between your mood and mental health in adolescence and in motherhood?

• How did you like to be, or would you have liked to have been supported during adolescence?

• How did adolescence change you?

• If you could go back and tell yourself anything as a child, what would you say?

• How did your significant relationships at the time influence your experience of adolescence?

• How would you like to be supported in motherhood?

• If you could go back to the time before you became a mother, with what you know now, what would you say to that version of yourself?

• Describe what vulnerability means to you.

• What about your own identity has stayed the same throughout your lifetime?

• How have you evolved and changed over your lifetime?

• How do you feel about endings and goodbyes?

• Write about the biggest change or changes you have ever been through.

• How have your early intimate relationships shaped who you are and how you feel about yourself?

 

Identity.

 

• Who are you?

• What are you like?

• How would others describe you?

• How would you describe your self-esteem?

• What do you like about who you are?

• How do you feel about who you are?

• What significant life experiences have contributed to who you are today?

• If you could only use three words to describe yourself, which three would you choose?

• If you could only use three words to describe yourself as a mother, which three would you choose?

• What are your values?

• What is important to you in motherhood?

• Describe your personal experience of being mothered.

• What has been the biggest influence on who you are in motherhood?

• What has been the biggest influence on who you are as an adult before pregnancy or trying to conceive?

• What was the biggest influence in shaping who you were as a child?

• As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

• If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you do with your days?

• What would you do if you knew everything would work out ok?

• How have your priorities changed in motherhood?

• When are you happiest?

• What makes you feel most fulfilled?

• When are you most relaxed?

• What are your happiest or fondest memories?

• What are you most passionate about?

• What would you like to be remembered for?

• Which relationships have influenced your sense of self and identity, and how?

• What is important to you in relationships?

• How has the way you were raised shaped who you are?

• Describe your experience of being mothered or parented.

• What do you want to take forward, from your own experience of being mothered?

• What do you want to leave behind, from your own experience of being mothered?

• What do you feel most passionate about?

 

Motherhood.

 

• What was your experience trying to conceive?

• What was your experience like in pregnancy?

• What was your experience of birth?

• What was your experience in the immediate period after birth?

• What was your experience like feeding your baby?  

• Have you any grief/ loss or trauma attached to your experiences trying to conceive, during pregnancy, birth, infant feeding or postpartum?

• How have others responded to any pain, grief, loss and/ or trauma in motherhood?

• Have you anything you’re still processing from early motherhood?

• What will stay with you from your experience of early motherhood?

• How has early motherhood changed you?

• If you could go back and change ay experience from early motherhood, what would it be?

• If you could re- experience any aspect of early motherhood, what would you choose?

• Have you felt or do you feel truly witnessed in motherhood?

• With early motherhood in mind, what do you hope you will never forget?

• With early motherhood in mind, what would you like to forget?

• What have you cried over in motherhood?

• If anything, what do you wish was different about your experience of motherhood?

• If a friend asked you what it is like being a mother, how would you respond?

• What do you find hardest about motherhood?

• What do you enjoy the most about being a mother?

• What embedded beliefs about yourself and self- worth have resurfaced in motherhood?

• Have any childhood wounds resurfaced in motherhood?

• What relationships are most important to you in motherhood?

• How has motherhood surprised you?

• How would you like your children to describe you to others?

• How has motherhood changed your internal beliefs about yourself?

• What have you learnt in motherhood?

• How has motherhood impacted your significant relationships? 

• If you desired, or decided to have another baby, what would you differently?

• How does what you see online, or in the media, influence your experience of motherhood?

• At what point in your own journey and perinatal period did you become a mother?

• Have you felt there is an ‘expiry date’ on support and understanding in the perinatal period, from self and/ or others?

• At what point is a mother’s transition to motherhood complete?

 

Mental Health & Wellbeing.

 

• What does the term ‘mental health’ mean to you?

• What do you believe is the foundation of good mental health and wellbeing?

• Which significant life experiences have influenced your mood and mental health?

• Before you had a baby or began trying for a baby, how did you take care of your mood, mental health and wellbeing?

• Since trying to become pregnant or during or following pregnancy, how do you take care of your mood, mental health and wellbeing?

• Who do you talk to about your mood, mental health and wellbeing?

• How have your usual coping mechanisms become more challenging to incorporate in motherhood?

• How has self- care become more challenging in motherhood?

• What do you think would make the biggest difference in supporting your mood, mental health and wellbeing today?

• What do you think would make the biggest difference in supporting your mood, mental health and wellbeing over the long-term?

 

Before having a baby, or trying to become pregnant, had you ever experienced any challenges to your mood, mental health and wellbeing?

• What symptoms did you experience?

• What were you responding to you? (What was happening for you at the time)

• How were you supported?

• How would you like to have been supported?

• What did you learn about your own mental health?

 

Since becoming a mother, have you experienced any challenges to your mood, mental health and wellbeing?

• What symptoms have you, or are you experiencing?

• What are you responding to you? (What have you been through)

• How are you currently supported, or how were you supported at the time?

• How would you like to be been supported?

• What are you learning about your own mental health?

 

• Are there any similarities in experiences of mental health challenges and psychological distress across your lifetime?

• What does ‘good mental health’ look like for you?

• What does ‘poor mental health’ look like for you?

• How does your mood and mental health influence your physiological body and health? (i.e. tension, stomach upset, racing heart etc)

• What does anxiety feel like in your body and mind?

• What does depressed, or low mood feel like in your body and mind?

• What do you carry with you?

• What coping mechanisms have you developed that are helpful?

• What coping mechanisms have you developed that are not or no longer helpful?

• How was mental health discussed when you were growing up?

• Have you ever experienced your grief, loss or trauma being minimised, dismissed or invalidated?

• How does your menstrual cycle influence your mood and mental health?

• What helps you to feel better, calmer or more grounded when overwhelmed?

• What helps you feel safe and secure?

• What worsens your mental health?

• How has your own mood, mental health and wellbeing changed over time?

• How do you respond to stress?

• How do you cope with stress?

• How do others respond to you in times of distress?

• How can others support you in times of distress or mental health challenges?

• Who can you talk to about your mental health?

• What feels particularly difficult during a period of depressed mood or anxious mood?

• What supports your mood and mental health during a period of depressed or anxious mood?

• What can others do to support you if you’re having a hard time?

• What can you do to support yourself if you’re having a hard time?

• What forms of support have helped in the past?

• Write a list of things that may help support your mood, mental health and wellbeing in motherhood.