In Today's Issue:
- Why anxiety and low milk supply might actually be cognitive overload
- The mental load patterns every provider needs to recognize
- How 200 decisions before 9am creates physical symptoms
A lactation consultant came to me about a client with dropping milk supply.
Mom was eating well, hydrating, pumping regularly, doing everything right. Baby was gaining weight. Milk was there. But supply kept declining and mom seemed increasingly anxious, apologizing constantly, asking rapid-fire questions.
When we used the Postpartum Restoration Method assessment, this mom scored through the roof on cognitive overload indicators.
She was managing three kids' schedules, a return-to-work transition, a traveling partner, aging parents' care, and had become the family's entire logistical coordinator.
That low milk supply? A physiological response to chronic stress from mental overload.
Once we addressed the invisible cognitive burden, her supply recovered within two days.
Listen: The Mental Load Crisis Hiding in Your Practice →
You Already Know This (Because You've Lived It)
If you're a mother reading this, you don't need me to explain the mental load. You're living it.
You're the one who remembers when school picture day is, that your toddler is almost out of diapers, that your partner's mom's birthday is next week, that the dog needs flea medication, that the pediatrician appointment needs rescheduling.
You're managing your practice, your clients' needs, your family's logistics, and somehow also supposed to remember to eat lunch.
The reason you recognize this in your clients immediately is because you see it in yourself every single day. I know I do!
Here's what makes you uniquely positioned to address this: You understand the weight of invisible work. You know how it feels when your brain won't shut off. You've experienced how cognitive overload shows up as physical symptoms.
That lived experience isn't a limitation—it's your greatest clinical asset.
What the Mental Load Actually Is
This isn't "being busy" or "having a lot on your plate."
The mental load is the cognitive burden of being the default person who remembers, anticipates, plans, and orchestrates all of family life.
Clinically, it looks like this:
Your client shows up late, seems scattered, can't remember what you discussed last week. Traditional thinking: she's not prioritizing her health.
Reality: She's experiencing cognitive overload from managing everyone else's needs while her own brain function is compromised by the neurological changes naturally occurring in the first 2-3 years postpartum.
Sound familiar?
How Mental Load Destroys Physiology
The brain uses 20% of total daily energy consumption. When it's constantly processing multiple information streams, making decisions, holding details in working memory—energy demands increase dramatically.
This triggers:
- Chronic HPA axis activation - Cortisol and adrenaline stay elevated
- Sympathetic nervous system dominance - Body stuck in fight-or-flight
- Sleep disruption - Mind can't shut off even with opportunity to rest
- Digestive dysfunction - Blood flow redirected away from digestion
- Immune suppression - Stress depletes immune resources
- Blood sugar dysregulation - Stress hormones interfere with insulin
- Hormone disruption - Chronic cortisol suppresses reproductive hormones
- Increased inflammation - Stress triggers inflammatory cascades
When your client presents with anxiety, insomnia, digestive issues, frequent illness, mood swings, and fatigue—these might not be separate issues requiring different interventions.
They might all be physiological manifestations of cognitive overload.
(And if you're experiencing these symptoms yourself? Same root cause.)
The Three Patterns to Recognize
The Hypervigilant Manager: High decision-making frequency, feels responsible for everyone's needs, sleep disruption despite exhaustion, physical tension (jaw/shoulders), stomach issues, irritability or rage that seems out of character.
The Overwhelmed Perfectionist: High standards for family management, difficulty delegating, guilt when not meeting own expectations, anxiety about forgetting details, chronic stress symptoms, relationship strain.
The Depleted Default Parent: Go-to person for all family decisions, partner oblivious to household management needs, exhaustion that rest doesn't resolve, can't delegate because "it's easier to just do it myself."
Which pattern are you seeing in your clients? Which one are you living?
Why Postpartum Women Are Uniquely Vulnerable
Neurological changes: Pregnancy and postpartum literally rewire areas responsible for executive function and working memory. "Mom brain" is real neurological adaptation affecting cognitive capacity.
Exponential demand increase: Adding a completely dependent human while maintaining all previous obligations creates exponential cognitive load.
Sleep fragmentation: Waking every few hours impairs cognitive function more severely than most life experiences. Decision-making, working memory, and stress resilience all decline.
Nutritional depletion: Brain requires steady glucose and specific nutrients for optimal function. Most postpartum moms survive on coffee, crackers, and toddler leftovers—creating blood sugar swings that directly impair cognitive performance.
Social isolation: Traditional cultures distributed cognitive load among extended family networks. Modern mothers carry this burden alone.
Questions That Reveal the Truth
"Walk me through your morning routine from waking until 10am."
"Who in your household notices when you're running low on household items?"
"If you got sick tomorrow, who would know how to manage your family's week?"
These reveal the invisible cognitive work that traditional assessments miss—and that moms themselves don't recognize because they're too busy managing the mental load.
Try asking yourself these questions. The answers might surprise you.
What Changes When You Address This
When you help a mom redistribute her mental load, you see:
- Sleep quality improves without specific sleep interventions
- Anxiety decreases without medication
- Digestive issues resolve
- Immune function strengthens
- Relationship satisfaction increases
- Maternal confidence builds
- "Unrelated" physical symptoms disappear
You're not just improving her health. You're modeling sustainable support for her family. You're preventing her children from growing up thinking constant maternal overwhelm is normal.
The Perinatal Mental Health Training teaches systematic assessment and intervention for mental load overwhelm—along with every other root cause of postpartum mental health struggles.
The mental load crisis is happening in your practice right now—and probably in your own life.
Every overwhelmed mom, every anxious client, every woman struggling despite resources—many are drowning in invisible cognitive demands.
Your lived experience as a mother-provider gives you unique insight into this crisis. Use it. See it in your clients. Name it. Address it systematically.
And maybe, just maybe, address it in yourself too (with the upmost love).
Stay fierce, stay rooted,
Maranda Bower
CEO & Founder of Postpartum University®
www.PostpartumU.com
