If You Need Help Right Now
The free Hope Guide carries these numbers on its second page, so they are findable without reading anything else.
Call or text 988 — the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Free, confidential, 24 hours a day, anywhere in the United States.
Call, text or chat 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262) — the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. Free and confidential, 24 hours a day, in English and Spanish, staffed by counselors trained specifically in pregnancy and postpartum mental health.
Call 911 or go to an emergency room if you or your baby are in immediate danger, or if you are seeing or hearing things others do not, believing things others find strange, feeling confused or disconnected from reality, or have gone days without sleep. Those can be signs of postpartum psychosis, which is a medical emergency.
You Will Not Lose Your Baby for Making the Call
This is the fear that stops most people, so it is worth answering plainly.
Calling a hotline is not a child protection report. Hotline counselors are not there to assess your fitness as a parent, and the maternal hotline exists precisely because these thoughts and feelings are common in new parents.
Unwanted, intrusive thoughts about harm coming to your baby are a recognized symptom of anxiety and OCD, and the distress they cause you is what tells a clinician what they are. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that most women who find these thoughts distressing will not act on them, and that there is low risk of infant harm. There is more on this on our page about intrusive thoughts.
Saying it out loud is the step that gets you help. It is not the step that gets you reported.
What Happens When You Call
- A trained counselor answers. On the maternal hotline these are licensed health care professionals, certified educators or specialists.
- They listen. There is no script you have to follow and no minimum level of crisis required.
- They can connect you with local support groups and organizations, or refer you on for further care.
- You do not have to give your name.
If speaking out loud feels impossible, both 988 and the maternal hotline accept text, and both offer chat.
What to Say If You Do Not Know How to Start
Any of these is enough:
- “I gave birth [X] weeks ago and I am not okay.”
- “I am having thoughts that frighten me.”
- “I do not feel like myself and I do not know what is wrong.”
- “I am calling about my partner, and I am worried.”
Lines for Specific Situations
- Postpartum Support International HelpLine — 1-800-944-4773 (text 800-944-4773, en Español 971-203-7773). Not a crisis line and not staffed around the clock, but the best route to local perinatal specialists and support groups.
- Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741. Free, 24/7, text only.
- Veterans Crisis Line — call 988 then press 1, or text 838255.
- The Trevor Project — 1-866-488-7386, or text START to 678-678. For LGBTQ+ young people, 24/7.
- SAMHSA National Helpline — 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Free and confidential, 24/7, for substance use and mental health treatment referrals.
- NAMI HelpLine — 800-950-6264. Monday to Friday, 10am–10pm ET. Information and peer support, not crisis intervention.
Warmlines Are for the Days That Are Not Emergencies
A warmline is a phone line staffed by people who have been through mental illness themselves. They exist for the large space between “fine” and “in crisis” — the evening where you are not in danger but should not be alone with your own head.
They are free, they are confidential, and using one does not put anything on a record. Hours vary by state. NAMI keeps a national warmline directory.
If You Are Calling About Someone Else
You do not need their permission to call a hotline and ask what to do. Both 988 and the maternal hotline will talk to partners, parents and friends.
What counselors will want to know is what you have actually seen: what has changed, how long it has been going on, whether she is sleeping, and whether anything she has said frightened you. If she has talked about dying, about the baby being better off without her, or she seems not to be herself in a way you cannot explain, treat it as today’s problem rather than something to raise at the next appointment.
If you believe either of them is in danger right now, call 911. You will not get in trouble for being wrong.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the maternal mental health hotline only for emergencies?
No. It is for anyone who is pregnant or has had a baby and is struggling, at any level. You do not have to be in crisis to use it.
Does calling 988 send police to my house?
In the large majority of calls, no. Most 988 conversations are resolved on the phone. Emergency services are involved only when there is an immediate risk to life and the situation cannot be resolved any other way.
Will any of this go on my medical record?
Hotline calls are confidential and you can remain anonymous. What you tell a clinician in an appointment is part of your medical record, as any other health information would be.
Can I text instead of calling?
Yes. 988 accepts texts, the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline accepts texts and chat, and Crisis Text Line is text-only.
What if English is not my first language?
The maternal hotline operates in English and Spanish. 988 offers Spanish and interpretation in other languages.
