Neurodivergent Affirming Postpartum Care: Navigating Parenting with Autism and ADHD
Create Your Postnatal Sensory Sanctuary and Tailor Your Parenting Transition
The perinatal period is a profound emotional regulation rollercoaster. For neurodivergent parents, the transition into parenthood brings distinct challenges that standard maternity care isn't designed to handle. From the sensorial demands of a newborn to the executive function hurdles of a new structure, you deserve mental health care that respects your neurodivergence.
It is a statistical reality that neurodivergent women and parents are at a significantly higher risk of developing postnatal depression or anxiety. Furthermore, many neurodivergent people experience their birth as a birth trauma due to the high stimulation environment of a hospital, which often leads to a nervous system collapse. If you are steering through pregnancy or post birth with ADHD or autism, you’re not alone. You don’t need more generic advice; you need strategies that work to help you find your way through this journey without reaching burnout.
Because traditional maternity care wasn't built for neurodivergent brains
Why Perinatal Mental Health Needs a Neurodiversity-Affirming Approach
When we look at perinatal mental health from a global perspective, we see that the traditional healthcare system often operates on a rigid neurotypical model. This model fails to recognise the cognitive and sensory needs of those with autism and adhd, dyslexia, or dyspraxia.
For many, early parenthood is defined by overwhelm and sleep deprivation. Without proper support, these factors can exacerbate depression and anxiety. My service is designed to centre your wellbeing by providing an inclusive system of caregiving that recognises your unique challenges.
What our comprehensive planning covers:
Sensory Regulation: Managing bright lights, sounds, and bodily sensations.
Executive Function Scaffolding: Creating a manageable structure for the demands of a newborn.
Identity & Matrescence: Managing the parenting experience while staying connected to your autistic or neurocomplex self.
Clinical Advocacy: Preparing for medical appointments and ensuring your health professional understands your ways of processing.
Choose Your Level of Support for Your Parenting Journey
Tailor Your Postpartum Period for Better Support
A 120-minute deep-dive to stabilise your immediate environment.
Best for: Stabilising your mental health and reducing overstimulation.
Covers: Mapping neural needs, the Traffic Light plan, for self-care.
Includes: 1 Week of WhatsApp Support.
- €195 -
Option 1: The Sanctuary Audit (Essentials)
I was drowning in the unpredictability in those early days after birth. My ADHD made it impossible to keep a routine, and the lack of sleep only made the executive paralysis worse. Tania’s approach was a lifesaver. She helped me create visual checklists that reduced my cognitive load. I stopped feeling like a failure and started feeling like I had tools that actually worked for my brain." — Elena
Two 120-minute sessions for a deeper dive into
identity and birth processing.
Covers: Everything in Option 1 + Birth Reflection, Matrescence coaching
Includes: 2 Weeks of WhatsApp Support.
-€350-
Option 2: The Neuro-Inclusive Roadmap (Comprehensive)
"As an AuDHD mother, the sensory demands of a new baby felt impossible to cope. Tania didn't just give me 'advice'; she helped me build a physical safe space where I could find comfort in times of need. Her Traffic Light tool changed everything for my husband and me. For the first time, I felt I was in control and could manage the sensory overload before it made me completely zone out. I finally felt seen in my motherhood journey." — Sarah
Three 120-minute sessions + Partner Support + Implementation Kit.
Covers: Everything in Option 2 + a dedicated Partnership & Co-Regulation session to help your partner cope and provide compassionate support.
Includes: 1 Month of WhatsApp Support.
-€550-
Option 3: The Full Sanctuary Partnership (Premium)
"After a difficult birth, I was terrified and struggling with motherhood. Tania’s 3 Steps Rewind training and her trauma-informed approach helped me integrate the experience of pregnancy and labour safely. She helped me recognise my triggers and speak up so I could get support from my providers. I can now really enjoy motherhood," — Marta
Deep-Dive: How We Help Manage the Postpartum Challenges
The Overload and the Parenting Journey
During the postnatal period, your brain is bombarded with new sensory input. For an autistic parent, the sensitivity to a newborn's cry or the tactile behaviour of a nursing infant can lead to a shutdown. We work on modulation techniques that allow you to remain present.
Executive Function and Routine
ADHD in the postnatal period often looks like a loss of function. When sleep deprivation hits, your executive function—your ability to navigate a schedule or attend a medical appointment—is compromised. We build inclusive mental health services into your plan, using strategies that work to keep life manageable.
About Tania Fragoso: Your Neuro-inclusive Perinatal Guide
My approach to mental health care is rooted in both professional expertise and a deeply personal narrative. My own journey through parenthood began in the UK, where I experienced the unique intensity of raising twins. Later, with the birth of my youngest daughter, our family moved to The Netherlands.
It was in the Netherlands where I spent several transformative years and completed the majority of my training at the Academie voor Coaching en Counselling and BIA Doula Training (Amsterdam). These healthcare services allowed me to gain invaluable experience in trauma-informed care. Now based in Málaga, I provide compassionate care that is able to help you steer through the perinatal period, wherever you might be in the world.
FAQs
Why are neurodivergent parents at higher risk for anxiety, PPD and birth trauma?
1
The unpredictability of the period around childbirth clashes with the neurodivergent need for structure and sensory support around the experience of pregnancy and childbirth and beyond. This, coupled with the lack of understanding of neurodivergence and accommodations in traditional healthcare, often leads to high anxiety and burnout and a traumatic birth.
What is the "Sensory Traffic Light"?
2
It is a regulation tool that helps you advocate for yourself. It helps you recognise when you are in the "Amber" zone of overstimulation before you reach a full shutdown.
Can you help navigate medical appointments?
3
Yes. I help prepare you to advocate for accommodating care during healthcare visits, ensuring your health professional provides better support for your unique challenges.
What is the Matrescence coaching?
4
The shift in identity into motherhood is often not addressed, and yet, it's deeply impactful. We map this together, allowing for a transition in which you can strive rather than survive.
I understand that these sessions are information-rich and can lead to some questions being missed or answers that might require a follow-up. Hence, during integration, I am available during office hours, and I aim to reply within 4 office hours, so you're never left waiting long during the day
How does the WhatsApp support work?
5
What are your Professional Ethics & Standards?
6
As a graduate of the Academie voor Coaching en Counselling, I strictly abide by their professional Code of Ethics. This ensures that our work together is: Respect, Integrity and confidentiality, Equality versus dependence, Boundaries, Competence.
I’m not "officially" diagnosed with ADHD /Autism. Is this for me?
7
Absolutely. In this space, self-identification is fully valid. If you struggle with sensory sensitivities, executive function, or feel that standard parenting advice doesn't "fit" your brain, you are in the right place. We focus on your lived experiences, not a clinical label.