Depression and anxiety while pregnant

Is it normal to be depressed while pregnant? What are the signs of depression during pregnancy? What anxiety meds are safe during pregnancy?

Mood disorders are biological illnesses that involve changes in brain chemistry. During pregnancy, hormone changes can affect the chemicals in your brain, which are directly related to depression and anxiety.

She should be able to treat you directly, or connect you with the appropriate mental health. Both anxiety disorders and depression are more likely to affect women than men, and women who are pregnant are not excluded. In fact, symptoms can develop or worsen during or after pregnancy, though in some cases women notice fewer symptoms while pregnant. Women can have an anxiety disorder and depression at the same time, too. Clinical depression is unlikely to go away without treatment, but there are many effective options.

Gabby Farkas, a New York. Other anxiety treatments during pregnancy. While medication is one solution to anxiety disorders, it certainly isn’t the only one.

Some doctors have found that those that normally have anxiety attacks actually stop having anxiety attacks while pregnant , only to find that they come back once the child is born. Facts About Anxiety During. WebMD explains why and tells you how to get help. Depression strikes up to of pregnant women. A few of the beta blockers are relatively safe to use occasionally for the treatment of the symptoms of anxiety during the first two trimesters of pregnancy.

While some pregnant women experience such severe depression that antidepressants are essential, for women with milder forms of depression , counseling or therapy can be an effective option. Anxiety can be as equally as debilitating as depression but is often not recognised as a true illness, especially by parents themselves. New and expecting parents have often heard of postnatal depression , but are less aware of the risk of anxiety during pregnancy and early parenthood.

Other symptoms of depression are anxiety , irritability, difficulty concentrating, fatigue (feeling very tired), and thoughts of death or self-harm. Physical symptoms of depression can include increased heart rate, loss of appetite, stomach pain, and headaches. At least one in ten pregnant women suffers from bouts of depression. Learn more about depression during pregnancy and find out how to deal with anxiety and stress.

If you have depression and are pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant , consult your health care provider. The risks and benefits of taking medication during pregnancy must be weighed carefully. Having children has brought new stressors into my life.

New things to get sad about.

Untreated depression during pregnancy can cause problems for you and your baby, like premature birth. Learn the signs and symptoms of depression. Some people with anxiety also have panic attacks, which can be very frightening.

Some pregnant women feel distressed or guilty about feeling anxious or panicky when everyone expects them to be happy. But anxiety is a mental health condition and not a sign of weakness, something that will go away on its own or that you should just ‘snap out of’. However, several factors make some women more likely than others to experience one or both of these conditions.

These risk factors include: A history of depression or anxiety , either during pregnancy or at other times.