A Topic We Talk about Too Seldom: Pregnancy Depression

Many people have already heard about postpartum depression (the state of mental distress and emotional imbalance that can occur after birth), but quite a few know about prenatal depression, the mother's mental state during pregnancy, and the problems that may occur during this period.

Most often, the explanations for the less pleasant conditions during pregnancy are attributed to hormonal changes. Although hormones play an important role, this explanation helps little mothers in distress, who describe the moments when they would have expected to feel fulfilled, happy and enthusiastic, as transformed into months of "torment", anxiety, and despair.

Is there depression during pregnancy? YES. The name given to this condition is prenatal or antenatal depression and it is a condition that can have physical, social, and emotional causes. Symptoms of prenatal depression can be chronic anxiety, guilt, crying non-stop, lack of energy, worries about the relationship with your partner (eg: that he might leave), conflicts with parents, isolation, fear of asking for help.

Symptoms of prenatal depression

Being pregnant carries a great emotional burden for any woman; It is a time when hormonal activity causes fluctuations in emotional states, and the general expectation is that expectant mothers should be calm, happy, and full of the joy of anticipating the magical moment of the birth of the child, which in itself can cause tensions for a child. a woman who doesn't feel that way.

Thus, for some women, being pregnant can lead to a series of negative feelings, which lead to a feeling of confusion and sadness that anticipated emotions during pregnancy are absent or greatly diminished. In reality, the mother may experience the experience of being pregnant differently than she imagined.

It can be a time for a woman about to become a mother to live a very painful life, with guilt, confusion, and various fears of increased intensity. It is often a state that the mother does not confess to those around her because it would present a reality contrary to the expectations conveyed culturally and socially and that those around her accept with great difficulty or place it singularly in a lack of wishes to be better, the mother thus finding herself alone in the experience she is living.

Moreover, there are expectations that the "natural maternal instinct" will invariably support women to cope with the newborn and the new context of life with all its limitations. However, many pregnant mothers are very anxious about their ability to be a good mother and how they will cope with all the needs of the child in the face of that difficult-to-represent maternal instinct. All of these feelings, along with many others, can lead to a depressive episode during pregnancy.

Why does prenatal depression occur?

There is generally implicit pressure on women to look and feel good throughout pregnancy - to be "thriving." Most of the time things are completely different - weight gain, fatigue, and irritability, and very often the existence of a feeling of doubt in one's strengths and abilities, can generate a significant state of discomfort for the expectant mother.

In the case of a history of missed pregnancies, this period can bring back feelings of sadness about that loss, as well as great anxiety that the same thing could happen again. Where there is a life history where there have been traumatic experiences, strong internal conflicts related to the child can occur.

For example, a mother who portrays her childhood as unhappy because she was a girl, and who knows that she is now expecting a baby girl, maybe very scared about the life her child will have and may wish not to. have more. All of these, in turn, can cause or exacerbate depression.

Let us not forget that there is very little emotional support given to pregnant women, which may seem like their feelings and worries do not matter. Regular check-ups often address the physical part of the pregnancy (measuring the fetus, the mother's weight, etc.) but there are rarely any questions about the mother's mental state, especially the less pleasant feelings, or about the context of the pregnancy. her life.

Therefore, pregnant women may feel isolated and in some cases inadequate, and this can only intensify their depressive feelings. Even when mothers can express their strong negative feelings about the suffering they are experiencing and are prescribed medication by a psychiatrist, most of the time the treatment is not followed due to fears associated with the administration of the medication in pregnancy.

Recommendations for women who are going through a prenatal depression

Even when mothers can express their strong negative feelings about the suffering they are experiencing and are prescribed medication by a psychiatrist, most of the time the treatment is not followed due to the fears associated with taking the medication during pregnancy. Although it is not preferable to take medication during pregnancy, there are times when the mother's severe condition may be too dangerous for her and her fetus.

It should be noted that when we talk about depression, as in the case of any mental disorder, we are no longer talking about a lack of will. In such cases, the evaluation of a medical specialist is extremely important.

Although many medications that are prescribed for depression are contraindicated or there are not enough studies to show that they can be taken safely during pregnancy, it is very important to remember that there are still medications that can be taken during pregnancy. Thus, with the help and only on the recommendation of the medical specialist, they could help the mother, and implicitly the fetus, to cross this period more easily.

Also, talking to a psychotherapist or psychologist can greatly ease your mother's life, as she may have someone to listen to, support, and address pregnancy-specific issues. As with postpartum depression, pregnancy depression can occur at any time and does not develop at any point in time.

One mother may be depressed at the beginning of the pregnancy, possibly due to immediate lifestyle changes or the shock of dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, while another mother may experience this condition towards the end of the pregnancy when all the feelings positive ones diminish as the moment of birth approaches and the anxiety increases.

The problem of pregnancy depression is important to address from a mother-fetus perspective. Studies show that stress caused by prenatal anxiety as well as depression affects both the development of the fetus and that of the child later.

Prolonged stress can be transmitted hormonally to the fetus, and the human brain is very vulnerable to the rapid growth and development of nerve tissue during pregnancy. Moreover, the mother's depression can cause inadequacy in the care she provides (food, sleep, etc.) during pregnancy, as well as obstetric complications, which can affect the child's further development.

If the fetus develops in an intrauterine context of severe and/or prolonged stress this can affect it at the neuro-behavioral level. In the long term, this may include an increased risk of developing attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, or developmental delay.

What can be done?

If you know someone who is in this situation, try to move away from the myths surrounding pregnancy and help your expectant mother find support. Depression in pregnancy is a condition that is often undiagnosed due to fears and beliefs of the mother and those around her that it is not good to have negative feelings during pregnancy.

If you are in this situation, make an appointment and consult your medical specialist or psychologist and tell him honestly how you feel, what you think, and what you think.

He is not there to judge you and will receive you without expectation and with understanding. Discussing your fears and feelings with your healthcare provider, psychologist, or psychotherapist may help you understand why you are feeling this way and why you can overcome them and deal with them more quickly and easily.