This is not a whim, as some believe. Postpartum depression begins long before the baby is born and doesn’t go away on its own, says perinatal psychologist Dawn Kingston. It is important to know about this and prevent the problem as early as possible.
The very thought of postpartum depression instills fear and helplessness in pregnant women. Many worry that they won’t be able to help themselves when the baby comes. But this is the greatest delusion.
For the past 20 years, everyone involved in the field of emotional health during childbearing years has focused exclusively on postpartum depression. Men and women were advised to watch for her symptoms after the birth of a child. Some doctors tested mothers at the sixth week postpartum checkup.
Few have thought about what happens before a baby is born. What most people don’t realize is that the first warning signs of depression appear in women during pregnancy.
Even obstetricians and doctors do not know about this. After all, research on the emotional state of pregnant women really began to be carried out quite recently.
What you need to know
A recent study of more than 1000 Australian first-born mothers cast doubt on several long held beliefs about this. The authors of the project tested women for probable depression during pregnancy, and then 3, 6 and 12 months after the birth of babies.
When the children were 4 years old, the mothers were checked again, and they also found out if there were any emotional and behavioral problems in the children.
The study debunked three main myths
Myth 1. Mood swings in pregnant women are natural, they will go away on their own. In fact, women who are prone to depression during pregnancy tend to continue to experience it in the postpartum period and in the first few years of a child’s life. For most of them, it doesn’t go away on its own.
As the study showed, 40% of women during pregnancy had depressive symptoms. Of these, the condition of 78% remained at the same level until the moment when the children went to the garden. The remaining 22% of participants suffered from a more severe form of depression, and as the child grew older, they got worse.
Myth 2. Postpartum depression harms the development of the child. All troubles are from her. In fact, both prenatal (prenatal) and postnatal depression affect the early development of a child.
Four-year-olds whose mothers were depressed from the beginning of their pregnancy until their children entered kindergarten were twice as likely to have emotional and behavioral problems, according to a study. More specifically, it has been found that maternal depression (during pregnancy and up to four years of age) is the main cause of underdevelopment.
Myth 3. Women who suffer from depression during pregnancy and after childbirth are “just losers with a bunch of other problems.” In fact, the vast majority of women who struggled with depression from the beginning of pregnancy until the age of four children had a higher education and a good job. More than 96% of them were married or were in a stable civil marriage.
Note
If you, a pregnant friend or relative feel that something is wrong with your emotional health, talk to your doctor or midwife!
Prenatal anxiety exists. And this study confirms that they are much more common than we think. Don’t wait until the baby is born and the problems get worse.
About the author: Dawn Kingston is a perinatal mental health specialist.