It is said that pregnancy is one of the happiest times in a woman’s life. But are you sure? British research shows that it is quite the opposite. The analysis of specialists shows that every fourth expectant mother struggles with mental disorders. Why is this happening and how can you deal with it?
- Research shows that one in four pregnant women in the UK have mental health problems
- Mental disorders during pregnancy have negative consequences for the woman, the course of pregnancy, and for the health of the child
- Researchers believe that the best way to monitor the mental health of pregnant women would be to introduce mental health tests
Pregnancy is undoubtedly a unique and sometimes difficult period for a woman. Some women do not accept how their body changes, they cannot cope with the storm of hormones and mood swings. Even though it’s completely natural and normal, little is said about it. Researchers from King’s College London want a change in thinking about the waiting period, who decided to check what the condition of future mothers really is. The researchers asked the midwives to ask the mother-to-be about their mood and mood. What the analysis of the results showed made the specialists very concerned. It found that one in four women had mental health problems during pregnancy. 11 percent suffered from depression, 15 percent felt anxious, 2 percent suffered from eating disorders. The same number of women had obsessive compulsive disorder.
Where does depression come from in a pregnant woman?
For many years it was believed that the decline in mood and mental disorders that occur in pregnant women are caused by hormones. Researchers linked these disorders with changes in the levels of gonadal hormones, prolactin and cortisol. Unfortunately, no studies have so far provided a clear answer to the question whether this relationship actually exists. Some specialists are inclined to say that mental disorders are primarily of genetic origin and appear in women with a family history of similar disorders.
According to Anna Grabowska, a psychologist from the Solutions Laboratory in Warsaw, it is a more complex process. – Hormones are doing their job, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Pregnancy is not only a joyful time of waiting for a baby. It is also a state of crisis, understood as a revolution, a significant and irreversible change in life. In this sense, a crisis – positive or negative – is always stress-related. Preparing for a new and unknown role activates a whole lot of thoughts, feelings, ideas, expectations towards oneself and others.
In such situations, anxiety, a feeling of helplessness or being trapped can arise. When a future mother has a crisis, she may be accompanied by a (unjustified!) Feeling of guilt that she is not happy and that something is wrong with her – explains the specialist.
This cannot be ignored
The study, which was conducted by a team of researchers at King’s College London and published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, aimed to highlight the mental health problems faced by pregnant women. Few people realize that the mental health of the future mother only affects the course of pregnancy or the fetus. Research shows that it can affect a child’s further development and what it will be like when he grows up. Meanwhile, these disorders are very easy to diagnose and just as easy to treat.
Scientists believe that the best way to monitor the mental health of pregnant women is to introduce mental health tests. Carrying out such a test, which would consist of asking a few questions about mood and well-being, should not be particularly difficult, because expectant mothers usually visit their doctor very regularly. However, the doctors themselves need to be sensitized to pay more attention to the patient’s mood and, if necessary, refer her to a specialist and provide her with professional help.
– If a woman has supportive and loving relatives and a patient doctor, it stabilizes her mental state and it is easier for her to find thoughts, feelings and behaviors from the pool of optimistic, joyful and full of hope. If this is not the case, it is important that in difficult times she uses all possible sources of support: a gynecologist, psychologist, psychiatrist, childbirth school, neighbors, friends, foundations and associations, support groups or thematic internet forums – she adds.