Depression And Pregnancy
There is no doubt about the fact that the pregnancy is a very special period in every woman’s life. Every woman feels accomplished when she gives birth to a child and forgets about all the inconveniences and the problems that she endured during the 9 pregnancy months, or 266 pregnancy days. There is something that will remind the women about the pregnancy, do you guess what? Yes, the extra pounds that the women gain during the pregnancy, some women lose more pounds at the birth of the baby and others lose less at the birth of the baby. This is one of the things that make women sad and frustrated about the pregnancy.


Even if the pregnancy is one of the happiest moments in a woman’s life, in the same time it represents other mixed feelings like confusion, fear, sadness, stress, and even depression. Between 10% and 20% of women will struggle with some symptoms of depression during pregnancy, and a quarter to half of these will suffer from major depression. The depression is a illness that affects 1 in 4 women at a point in their lives and sometimes this point in life it happens to be during the pregnancy. Often, this illness is not diagnosed correct during the pregnancy and is diagnosed as being another type of hormonal imbalance. This diagnose may be dangerous for the mother and for the unborn baby. Depression may be treated and managed during the pregnancy, if it’s diagnosed properly.

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Depression during pregnancy, or antepartum depression, is a mood disorder, meaning a biological illnesses that involve changes in brain chemistry. During pregnancy, hormone changes can affect brain chemicals, which are directly related to depression and anxiety.

If a woman experiences some of the fallowing symptoms for a period of 2 week or more, then she may suffer from depression:

  • persistent sadness;
  • difficulty concentrating;
  • sleeping too little or too much;
  • loss of interest in activities that you usually enjoy;
  • recurring thoughts of death, suicide, or hopelessness;
  • anxiety;
  • feelings of guilt or worthlessness;
  • change in eating habits.

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    The principal causes of depression can be: relationship problems (this is a very strong factor that may cause an powerful emotional imbalance); history of depression in the family (depression may have affected other persons from the woman’s family and this think to create suffering and to leave sequelae on woman), previous pregnancy loss (a miscarriage may serious affect emotionally the women), stressful life events (stressful life events may create a strong imbalance that may lead to depression), history of abuse or trauma ( the combination between not a very strong person and traumas that she might of suffered during the lifetime may cause depression).

    Untreated depression may result in being dangerous to the mother and the baby if the mother’s behavior leads to poor nutrition, drinking, smoking, and suicidal behavior, which can then cause premature birth, low birth weight, and developmental problems.

    A woman who suffers from depression doesn’t have the strength or desire to adequately care for herself or her developing baby.

    The family and the friends may be a real help to help you treat your depression. In the same time with the family help and support, your health care provider might recommend you some treatment options available for the pregnant woman:

  • supportgroups;
  • private psychotherapy;
  • medication;
  • light therapy.

    The most important thing in fighting with depression is to have a strong will and to want to get help and to be confident in the result of the treatment.

    Left untreated depression may have serious effects on your mental state of mind.

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