Is it normal to feel sad when pregnant? Is it okay to feel depressed during pregnancy? What if someone doesn’t want to care for their child? If these are questions you have been asking for some time, then it’s time to ask for help. Depression has become part of our lives since the time we were born into the world, sometimes even before that. It can come at you at odd times, which you may not have imagined before. One of your happiest moments in life can turn into a sad one. Women can suffer from depression during pregnancy (prenatal) or after the birth of a child (postpartum). While postpartum depression is well known to the public due to the stigmatization of prenatal depression, the latter is not talked about much. We’ll discuss why it is like that.
What is Prenatal Depression and Why is it Stigmatized?
Society expects us to be happy when a life is born into this world. But your brain can work against that. Certain factors before or after the pregnancy lead to depression in women, which sometimes cannot sit well with your family members or even your friends. This happens when they are not well aware of the mental health issues with pregnancy.
While information about postpartum mental health issues is well-documented, details about prenatal depression are deliberately obscured just because society as a whole is not willing to accept that happier moments should not be confused with sadness. This is because pregnancy is idealized in the media, where a mother who is pregnant or has given birth tends to be happy and the reel life always imitates real life. Mothers are expected to be happy or at least act happy during or after the birth of a child. Religious institutions also attach a lot of significance to the birth of a child, making it hard for women to report feelings of depression related to pregnancy.
In addition to that, the prenatal depression symptoms in pregnancy tend to resemble those that arise during pregnancy normally, which can add to the difficulty of diagnosing prenatal depression itself. These symptoms can include but are not limited to fatigue, mood swings, and loss of appetite.
Symptoms of Prenatal Depression
The prenatal depression symptoms overlap with the symptoms of normal pregnancy, making it difficult for mental health professionals to diagnose it properly. But to differentiate it properly, certain symptoms can be identified to confirm if a woman is suffering from prenatal depression rather than asking if is it normal to feel sad when you are pregnant:
- Low energy
- Low appetite
- You feel underwhelmed, apathetic, and unhappy
- Trouble focusing
- Suicidal thoughts
- Nothing seems interesting
Prevalence of Other Issues in Prenatal Depression
While depression is common in women, especially during or after pregnancy, the diagnosis of a mood disorder like prenatal depression in women will be more likely due to these factors:
- Unplanned pregnancy: An unwanted pregnancy can be the cause of stress and anxiety for women who did plan to bear children, which is accentuated when they are diagnosed with prenatal depression. Anxiety and stress can be multiplied when an unplanned pregnancy results from abuse.
- You have other mental health issues: When coupled with other mental issues, prenatal depression’s symptoms are increased tenfold, and also act as additional triggers to other mental health issues and vice versa. The symptoms are especially dangerous when someone is suffering from disorders such as bipolar disorder.
- Low-income household: Studies suggest that prenatal depression is more prevalent in women belonging to lower-income depression. The tendency of depression in women who belong to lower-income households can be caused by factors such as a bad marriage, job loss, or a health problem in the family, issues found to be common in lower-income households.
- Diabetes diagnosis: The presence of prenatal depression can lead to a diagnosis of or animate the already diagnosed diabetes or other gestational issues and vice versa.
- PTSD symptoms: Difficult childbirth can lead to signs of prenatal depression that also overlap with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
- Pre-existing pregnancy issues: Past history of miscarriages, stillbirth, or babies born with defects can also lead to prenatal depression symptoms during a new pregnancy.
Risks Associated With Prenatal Depression
The way mothers put their babies at risk when they suffer from postpartum depression is similar to prenatal depression. Women suffering from prenatal depression can compromise their ability to care for their child and their own well-being.
Depression can hinder a mother’s ability to visit the doctor, take proper nutrients, and take general care of their baby or themselves, and can put both the mother and the child in danger. Depending on the spectrum, women can feel anxious or stressed and on the other end, the extreme case of prenatal depression can cause insomnia, panic, self-harm, and rage.
Learn More: Signs of depression in Women: Top things to know
Can the Baby Be Affected by Prenatal Depression?
This is the question of the day and perhaps the most important question. There are a couple of answers to this:
- Gaining weight during pregnancy is important for the health of the child. Prenatal depression in women can seriously undermine that. This is because any type of depression when left untreated will kill your appetite, and interest in anything including food, which in turn will lead to unhealthy weight loss and not having enough nutrients to sustain yourself and by proxy, your baby.
- Prenatal depression is known for causing pregnant women to seek addictive behavior and substance abuse, which includes smoking, being intoxicated, or drinking alcohol.
- Although rare, suicidal and violent behavior that stems from prenatal depression in women can also mean your baby’s life is in danger. Double suicide is a frequent (yet rare as a whole) complication of prenatal depression symptoms in women.
Prenatal depression in women can also result in these complications for the baby usually after its birth:
- Immature birth
- Baby can be smaller than the gestational age
- Low birth weight
- Hyperactivity or the opposite: Cognitive disengagement syndrome
- Learning disabilities
- Mental disorders
Additionally, depression in pregnant women also creates difficulties in becoming ready for the baby after birth, for example:
- Having a hard time making preparations for the things needed for the baby such as a baby car seat.
- Going through performance anxiety related to breastfeeding. Breast milk is the most nutritious and naturally made food source for a baby. If this ability suffers, it can lead to malnourishment for the baby because of the absence of the most nutritious resource available.
- Having difficulties rearing for the child after birth. A sick mother is an unavailable mother.
Treatment of Prenatal Depression
There are different types of treatment for Prenatal Depression. Sometimes, either of these can be used as a combination:
Psychiatric Medication Management:
This is the process where mental health experts provide support for monitoring and analyzing your treatment through prescribed medication. Taking antidepressants (which is the usual medication-related treatment) to treat depression is not a viable option for pregnant women.
But the depression still needs to be treated and for that medication might be necessary albeit a different one. This is where the psychiatrist might come in handy for prescribing you the suitable medicine for treating prenatal depression signs while avoiding complicating the pregnancy itself.
Psychotherapy:
This would be the best way to go for treating your prenatal depression. It is noninvasive in the context that it will not interfere with the health of the baby yet is capable of providing the treatment you might need for treating your prenatal depression. Psychotherapy, which includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Interpersonal therapy can help guide you through understanding what you are feeling and provide ways to deal with those feelings constructively. Therapy can play an important role in providing relief from feelings of depression in pregnant women.
One can also go for Interpersonal therapy which is specifically focused on getting in touch with your feelings. Interpersonal therapy can help mend the differences that tend to create fault lines in a relationship. An unhealthy relationship is frequently cited as one of the main reasons that cause prenatal depression in women. You may feel extremely anxious about the effect a relationship would have on the baby if it is clear the relationship is toxic or problematic. If it shows signs of improvement, especially after joining a support group or a therapy such as the Interpersonal one, then prenatal depression can be prevented as a result of seeking treatment for something that might cause it.
Learn More: What is psychiatric medication management in mental health?
Lifestyle Changes:
Exercise is not just a way to lose weight but it can also act as an alternative way to treat the elevated levels of stress and anxiety in pregnant women. Obviously, high-intensity workouts are strictly prohibited but mild workouts like low-intensity cardio directly attack depression right into its core. While exercise helps you alleviate spiked hormones and elevated stress levels, it is not on the same level as treatments like psychotherapy or psychiatric medicine management. Do take advice from your doctor to find out if you are allowed to do a little bit of excursion.
Healthy lifestyle habits and a stress-free home environment can greatly contribute to the prevention of postnatal depression in women. Working on oneself always works, there is no doubt about that.
Do Prenatal Depression Signs Go Away By Itself?
One should not count on Prenatal Depression going away on its own. People should look for specific treatment that provides focused care to women suffering from prenatal depression. It is never a good idea to compromise on your health, let alone compromise on your baby’s health.
While it can be the case that your symptoms are actually related to pregnancy, it can also be the case that they are not. This is why it is paramount that you see a mental health expert soon. If you do not see one in a timely manner, you are risking consequences that can hurt you or your child.
Conclusion
Prenatal depression is a serious yet seriously underdiagnosed issue. It needs more focus and that is exactly what we are doing here. Focused treatment can provide the much needed relief from it but if left untreated, it can be highly consequential not just for the mother but for the baby too. This makes it paramount to find treatment before risk factors exacerbate the signs of prenatal depression that can affect the mother or the child in any way.
The Brainpower Wellness Institute provides extensive care for all issues relating to peripartum mental health. The platform hosts an army of extensively trained mental health professionals who are well-equipped to handle your problems if you are feeling depressed during early pregnancy.
