A recent Newsweek article titled Not Always ‘The Happiest Time’ looks at pregnancy and depression. Although roughly 20% of pregnant women suffer depression (comparable to the general population) it may be overlooked due to assumptions that pregnancy makes you happy or somehow wards against depression.
Even as postpartum depression has become morning-television fodder, the problem of depression during pregnancy has remained hidden—largely because most people still assume that pregnancy is or should be the realization of every woman’s dream. When she was training as a psychiatric resident in the 1980s, Katherine Wisner, now a professor of psychiatry and Ob-Gyn at the University of Pittsburgh, remembers being told not to worry about pregnant patients who were, in her view, “very ill.” Pregnant women, her teachers said, are “psychologically fulfilled.”
Treating depression in pregnancy is important, as it can affect the baby (some symptoms can even lead to low birth weight) and the whole family. The article also discusses some pros and cons of antidepressants, and highlights a 60% success rate (in a 2003 study) treating mild to moderate depression with interpersonal therapy.
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7 Comments to
“Pregnancy and Depression”
I’m interested in knowing how much of that 20 percent consists of teen pregnancies and women who have been left by lovers who decided, upon their pregnancy, that they were “through.” Obviously, that won’t account for all incidents, but it would logically explain why the majority do not feel that way, for the most part.
I am interested in a professional capacity as a
midwife in the UK on how women with pre-existing
mental health problems find the service they
receive from our current maternity services?
this is the subject of my dissertation commencing
Jan 07. Would be interested in anyones views
Hi Debbie - I’d be happy to try and hook you up with some people. Do you have a contact email or web site?
Hi Leila - There was no breakdown about the causes of depression (since so many things, internal and external, can be influences) in this study, but definitely women who are abandoned by the fathers have good reason to be blue.
20% is too much.
I’m pregnent & carrying week 26,i feel depress very often & it comes out in the form of tears.advise some comments
I am pregnant with my second child. I feel very depressed. I am always miserable and it is effecting my family. To the point where I am tearing everyone apart. Me and my boyfriend are always fighting in front/same house as our daughter, who is also becoming effected. I am at a loss. Any advice? Is this normal? I so tired of being unhappy.
Sorry to hear things are hard for you, Pricilla. Advice? Yes, I recommend you talk to your doctor.
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 15 May 2006
