Your emotional health is #1
Maternal mental health complications like depression and anxiety are the most common complications of having a baby. Your provider wants to make sure you know what to watch out for, where to get help, and what some of the biggest risk factors are, so you can be prepared in case you start noticing changes in your mood that last longer than 7 days. Before we get into symptoms, we want to see if you about some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding a maternal mental health complication.
Did you know?
Not just postpartum.
Maternal mental health complications like depression and anxiety can start during pregnancy, not just during the postpartum period.
Not just depression.
A maternal mental health complication isn’t always depression; it can also look like panic, anxiety, anger, and rage.
Not just women.
Men can also experience a mental health complication around the birth of a baby with 1 in 10 fathers experiencing depression and anxiety as well.
If you begin to notice any of the following:
Sad or Overwhelmed
Angry or Irritable
Anxious or
Nervous
Problems Eating or Sleeping
Feeling like you shouldn’t have become a mother.
Having upsetting thoughts
Thoughts of harming yourself or others.
If you begin to experience any changes in your mood that last longer than 7 days or that make it hard to function, please call your doctor. You can also call Postpartum Support International’s Warmline at 1-800-944-4773 or the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. If you feel like you may harm yourself or someone else call 9-1-1.
Risk Factors
There are a number of risk factors that can help contribute to a woman developing a maternal mental health complication. Below are just some of the leading risk factors. It is important to note that just having risk factors does not mean you will experience a maternal mental health complication. It just means you have a higher risk of developing either depression or anxiety during pregnancy or the postpartum period.