If you’re looking for a quality, helpful gift for a mom in your life who is battling postpartum depression, let me suggest something: a coloring book. No, not one featuring the characters her kids’ favorite TV shows. Adult coloring books, with adult meaning art and subjectry that appeals to adults. They’re all the rage right now, and there’s a type of coloring book for just about every type of person out there.

Adult coloring can present moms with many benefits, from mind-clearing and stress reduction to improving concentration and creativity. Additionally, moms with a newborn and a toddler or preschooler can use the coloring time as a way to check in and bond with the older child.

I asked our Postpartum Progress staff for some suggestions, and brought my own to the table (literally) as well.

12 Great Adult Coloring Books for Moms with Postpartum Mood Disorders

Crayola Color Scapes: This is a great introduction to adult coloring if you’re not really sure the mom you’re gifting would either be interested or have the tools to color. Crayola Color Scapes come with 12 premium coloring pages, 50 colored pencils, 12 Fine Line Markers, 12 Watercolor Pencils (exclusive to the Garden Pack). There are four kits: Garden, Kalidescope, Geometric, and Nature. These are so nice because they provide moms with

Calming Patterns Portable Coloring for Creative Adults: Skyhorse Publishing has a whole line of these hardback, lay-flat, portable (think: put in your purse) coloring books. They’re perfect for a mom on the go to toss into the diaper bag or a working mom to drop into her purse. Calming Patterns will work great for moms battling postpartum anxiety or who just need a few minutes to focus on anything but postpartum mood and anxiety disorders.

Coloring Books by Artist Johanna Basford: Johanna has a number of great adult coloring books: Lost Ocean, Secret Garden, Enchanted Forest, and Secret Garden. They’re simply beautiful, a little bit intricate, and allow for the coloring artist’s imagination to take flight.

Sweary Colouring Book: If you have a mom with a colorful vocabulary (pun intended), you may want to back this Kickstarter for her. You can’t buy this coloring book just yet as the artist is trying to raise money (successfully) to get it published, but backing the Kickstarter will allow you to get anything from a few downloads to signed copies. You can wrap up the donation and what the mom will receive. I bet she’ll really freaking* love it. (Or, you know, another word.)

Color Me Calm: I adore this coloring book. It includes water scenes, wooded scenes, geometric designs, mandalas, floral & fauna, and natural patterns. It’s a beautiful, thick coloring book created with the intent of fostering a sense of calm and ridding anxiety, making it a perfect pick for a mom facing a postpartum mood disorder. (The artist also has Color Me Happy, which could be equally beneficial for moms.)

Creative Coloring Inspirations Activity Pages: This is another great coloring book that I own and love. If the mom in your life fighting postpartum depression finds mantras or positive self speak useful in her treatment, this is definitely a great coloring book to grab. Here are just a few she might really like to color and hang up in a place where she sees them daily: “Trust yourself.” “Don’t give up.” “Keep going.” “Hope.” Additionally, they feature a well-known positive quote on the back, like this gem, “Today’s a wonderful day
for you to create a good “yesterday” for tomorrow.” It’s really just a great adult coloring book!

Additionally, many bookstores both online and off carry a large number of adult coloring books now. You can even find them at dollar stores for $5 or less.

If you know of a great coloring book for moms who are fighting postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, please leave them in a comment!