<p>The postpartum period is a time of psychological, physical, and social vulnerability, which becomes more challenging during wartime and prolonged partner absence due to military service. Within such conditions of uncertainty, perceived control plays a central role in emotion regulation and adaptation. Rotter’s Locus of Control theory provides a framework for understanding how internal and external perceptions of control shape maternal coping, resilience, and the mother–infant relationship during armed conflict. The aim of the study was to explore the cognitive-emotional processes that shape postpartum adaptation among first-time mothers during wartime, applying Rotter’s Locus of Control theory to illuminate mechanisms of perceived control and maternal resilience. An interpretive qualitative study was conducted to explore mothers' lived experiences and the meanings they ascribed to them within the family context. The study included 20 primiparous mothers who gave birth in Israel during an ongoing large-scale armed conflict, while their partners were absent due to conflict-related military service. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were thematically analyzed using an interpretive thematic analysis approach, in accordance with the COREQ guidelines. Three themes emerged: (1) experiences of external control where “everything was decided for them,” accompanied by helplessness and anxiety; (2) regaining internal control through routines, small mother-infant rituals, and maternal bonding amid the gendered pressures of partner absence during war; and (3) dynamic oscillations between loss and renewal of control. Postpartum motherhood in wartime reflects a dynamic interplay between external constraint and internal control. These findings underscore the need for targeted psychosocial interventions to enhance maternal and family resilience during periods of armed conflict.</p>