Perinatal and Postpartum
Perinatal refers to the time immediately before pregnancy, pregnancy as well as the postpartum period.
This time is supposed to be one of the happiest times of your life. This is not a reality for many women. You may be thinking “What’s wrong with me?” or “This is way harder than I thought it would be “. Let me be the first to tell you You are not alone. Many women feel this way. In fact, 1 in 5 women experience Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs). This is actually the number 1 complication of pregnancy. You are not to blame and with help you will get better
Common Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Postpartum Depression could include feelings of anger, irritability, guilt, lack of interest in the baby, changes in eating and sleeping habits, trouble concentrating, thoughts of hopelessness and sometimes thoughts of harming the baby or yourself.*
Postpartum Anxiety could include extreme worries and fears, including the health and safety of the baby. Some women have panic attacks and might feel shortness of breath, chest pain dizziness, feeling of losing control, numbness and tingling.*
Postpartum Obsessive Compulsive Disorder might include repetitive, upsetting and unwanted thoughts or mental images, and sometimes the need to do certain things over and over to reduce the anxiety cause by those thoughts. These moms find these thoughts very scary and unusual and are very unlikely to ever act on them.*
Postpartum Stress Disorder is often caused by a traumatic or frightening birth experiences. Symptoms could include flashbacks of the trauma with feelings of anxiety and the need to avoid things related to that event.*
Postpartum Psychosis could include seeing or hearing voices or images others cant’ feeling very energetic and unable to sleep, believing things that are not true and distrusting those around you. This disorder is rare and can be dangerous so it is important to seek help immediately.*