As an expectant mother you become used to countless health appointments to check on yours and your baby’s physical health. It is easy to keep track of tangible and measurable things, such as your heart rate, your blood pressure, your weight, and so on. It is a lot harder to deal with issues you cannot see, only feel. What would you do if you woke up and half of your body was paralysed? Probably scream for help, go straight to the hospital or call someone. You certainly would do something; you would not ignore it. How many times have you done nothing at moments where it was even harder to get out of bed?
Mental health comprehends someone’s social, psychological and emotional well-being. Taking care of it is essential throughout your entire life. Approximately 10.7% of the world population struggle with a mental disorder. For the past couple of years, mental health issues have been on the rise due to isolation and distress caused by the spread of COVID-19 and its social and economic impact. Symptoms of anxiety and depression have increased in mothers-to-be since the beginning of the pandemic.
Special attention to your mental health during pregnancy is important for three main reasons:
- to make sure conditions do not go underdiagnosed;
- to find treatments suitable for this period;
- to protect you and your baby from stress-related health conditions.
Mental well-being during pregnancy
There are so many changes going on with you now, that go so much beyond your physical appearance. Your family, your home and your body are changing to accommodate a new member and fulfil their needs. You should not feel guilty when things feel out of control. Worries and overwhelm are a part of change, no matter how great it is or how happy you think you should be. 20% of women experience mental health problems throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period, depression being the most common condition. The important thing now is taking care of yourself fully, and not overlook your mental well-being.
Due to the natural physiological and emotional changes that happen during pregnancy, many mental health disorders are often underdiagnosed. It is always important to watch the symptoms closely and consult with a specialist. Moreover, it is pertinent to mention that a destabilised mental state not only affects your mood throughout the day and makes it harder to sleep at night, it can even jeopardize your physical health. Studies have shown that higher stress levels can result in higher blood pressure and compromise your immune system.
For women who had been diagnosed with a mental disorder prior to getting pregnant and have been taking medication, it is important to inform your health care providers right away. Unsupervised medication use during pregnancy can be harmful for the baby’s development, and not taking proper care of a mental condition can make it escalate to a mental health emergency.
What is a mental health emergency?
When your mental health is shaken by a life-changing event it is normal to feel overwhelmed or that things are out of your control. However, any time you lose control of your own self and become a threat to yourself or others this configures a mental health emergency. Whenever this happens you need to get assistance immediately.
Disclaimer: All data in this articles has been researched and you can find in the references below
References:
- Alipour, Z., Kheirabadi, G. R., Kazemi, A., & Fooladi, M. (2018). The most important risk factors affecting mental health during pregnancy: a systematic review. Eastern Mediterranean health journal, 24(6).
- Center for Diseases and Prevention. (2021, June 28). About Mental Health. https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm
- Dattani, S. (2021, August 20). Mental Health. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/mental-health.
- Etchegoyen, A. (2005). Psychiatric disorders in pregnancy. Women?S Health Medicine, 2(2.5), 44–46. https://doi.org/10.1383/wohm.2.2.5.44.62944.
- Khoury, J. E., Atkinson, L., Bennett, T., Jack, S. M., & Gonzalez, A. (2021). COVID-19 and mental health during pregnancy: The importance of cognitive appraisal and social support. Journal of affective disorders, 282, 1161-1169.