Adult ADHD Care for New Parents in NYC and New Jersey

The months after a baby arrives can make anyone feel scattered. Keys go missing, bottles get left on the counter and sentences trail off. For some parents that fog lifts with sleep. For others it uncovers a lifelong attention problem that coping strategies used to hide, or makes an existing ADHD diagnosis harder to manage. This page is for adults in New York and New Jersey who are new parents and are asking about their own ADHD. Dr. Shershow sees adults 18 and older and does not evaluate or treat children.

Sleep deprivation or ADHD?

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute says sleep deficiency can make it harder to make decisions, solve problems and control emotions, and can lead to slower reactions, taking longer to finish tasks and more mistakes. Those are close to the complaints that bring adults to an ADHD evaluation.

The difference lies in the history. ADHD criteria require that several symptoms were present before age 12, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, and show up in more than one area of life. An evaluation with a new parent therefore spends real time on what attention, organization and follow-through were like before the pregnancy, in school and at work. A problem that began with the night feeds and fades as sleep returns points away from ADHD. A lifelong pattern that got worse under new demands points toward a fuller look.

Postpartum depression and anxiety

NIMH describes perinatal depression, during pregnancy or after birth, as more than the "baby blues". Poor concentration, fatigue and sleep problems are symptoms of depression as well as ADHD, so the two need to be looked at together.

ADHD itself appears to raise the risk. In a Swedish national register study of 773,047 women who gave birth between 2005 and 2013, 16.76% of women with an ADHD diagnosis were diagnosed with depression in the year after delivery, and 24.92% with an anxiety disorder, about five times the rate in women without ADHD. The authors noted that closer contact with psychiatric care could inflate the figures, and concluded that ADHD needs to be considered in maternal care.

Dr. Shershow's evaluation covers current symptoms; childhood, school and work history; health, including medical history, medications, sleep and substances; and other explanations such as depression, anxiety, sleep problems or stress, alone or alongside ADHD. Postpartum depression and anxiety are considered in that evaluation; they are not a standalone service of this practice. In New York, obstetric and primary care clinicians can call Project TEACH, a state perinatal psychiatry consultation line for clinicians, about their patients. Related reading: ADHD and depression and ADHD in pregnancy and postpartum.

ADHD medication and breastfeeding

This is one of the most common questions from new parents, and the sources do not all say the same thing:

None of this is a recommendation for any one person. Whether to start, restart or continue a medication while breastfeeding is a decision to make with your prescriber and your baby's pediatrician. Dr. Shershow discusses medication only after the evaluation, when medication is appropriate, and no prescription is guaranteed. For background, see ADHD medication side effects in adults.

Parenting with ADHD

Many parents worry that ADHD will make them a worse parent. The research is more reassuring than the worry. A 2017 meta-analysis of 32 studies found that parental ADHD symptoms accounted for between 0.5% and 3.2% of the variation in harsh, lax and positive parenting: a real link, but a small one. Practical strategies are in parenting when you have ADHD.

Time off for appointments in New York and New Jersey

Family leave and sick leave do different jobs, and parents often mix them up:

In short, paid family leave pays for time with the baby, and sick-leave laws are the ones designed to cover your own appointments. Follow-up visits with Dr. Shershow are held by secure video. More detail: leave and disability benefits in New York and in New Jersey.

New York and New Jersey rules that apply to your visits

Dr. Shershow is licensed in both New York and New Jersey, and the rule that matters is where you are physically located during each visit, not your home address. New York's Office of the Professions says a practitioner must hold a New York license when the patient is located in New York, and New Jersey's telehealth law requires a New Jersey license for services provided to a patient in New Jersey. For a video visit you must be in New York or New Jersey at the time of the visit.

If stimulant medication becomes part of the plan and you are located in New Jersey, P.L.2026, c.40 (effective July 8, 2026) applies to adults on a Schedule II stimulant who start by telehealth: an in-person visit within 30 days, a contact at least every three months (in person or by real-time audio-video), and an in-person visit at least once a year. The office will explain how visits are arranged for patients located in New Jersey. In New York, as of October 2026, telehealth prescribing of controlled substances follows the federal telemedicine flexibilities, which run through December 31, 2026.

For current fees and how insurance works with the practice, call the office or see fees and insurance.

If you are struggling right now

If you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, or feel unable to cope, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, 24 hours a day in New York and New Jersey. In immediate danger, call 911.