Perinatal Mental Health

The perinatal period is considered anytime from conception to the baby's first birthday (and sometimes beyond).  Perinatal therapists seek to support women around mental health needs during this time.  Some of these needs may include fertility challenges, pregnancy loss, fear of labor and delivery, pregnancy hormonal and moods changes, birth trauma,  perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, as well and adjusting to baby/parenting in general.  

PMADS are a set of mental health issues that can occur during the perinatal period.  Most commonly seen in women soon after giving birth; these symptoms can also affect women during pregnancy, as well as non-birthing moms and dads.  They can range from milder symptoms of sadness or anxiety to more rare, but serious, mental health crises.  Following are some of the conditions that may be seen during this period.

A woman with PPD might experience feelings of anger, sadness, irritability, guilt, lack of interest in baby, changes in eating and sleeping habits, trouble concentrating, thoughts of hopelessness, and sometimes even thoughts of harming the baby or herself (Postpartum Support International, 2021).

Postpartum anxiety may manifest as stress, overwhelm, or fear around taking care of baby.  A woman with PPA may experience extreme worries or fears, often over the health and safety of the baby.  Some women have panic attacks and might fee shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, a feeling of losing control, and numbness and tingling. (Postpartum Support International, 2021).

Postpartum OCD symptoms may look like repetitive, upsetting and unwanted thoughts or mental images (obsessions), and sometimes they need to do certain things over and over (compulsions) to reduce the anxiety caused by those thoughts.  These moms find these thoughts very scary and unusual and are unlikely to ever act on them (Postpartum Support International, 2021).

Posttraumatic stress disorder relating to pregnancy or postpartum may be in relation to a traumatic event having to do with the pregnancy, childbirth, or past trauma.  Symptoms may include flashbacks of the trauma with feelings of anxiety and the need. to avoid things related to the event (Postpartum Support International, 2021).

Bipolar depression is more severe than "mood swings" and can often be indicative of a mental health crisis or need for medication evaluation.  Many women are diagnosed for the first time with bipolar depression or mania during pregnancy or postpartum.  Bipolar mood disorder can appear as a severe depression; women need informed evaluation and follow-up on pst and current mood changes and cycles to assess whether there is a bipolar dynamic (Postpartum Support International, 2021).

Postpartum psychosis often shows up within the first week or two after giving birth.  Those who suffer from postpartum psychosis may experience hearing voices or seeing images that others may not.  These hallucinations may cause mothers to think of believe bizarre or harmful things about themselves, their baby, or those around them, sometimes to the point of behaving dangerously.  Symptoms may include reported need for little or no sleep, rapid mood swings, paranoia, or marked change in mood or affect.  While this condition is often sensationalized and labeled as "Postpartum", it represents an extremely small population of postpartum women.  Nonetheless, this is and extremely sever condition and warrants immediate behavioral health evaluation.   (Postpartum Support International, 2021).