Perinatal Mental Health Disorders

1 in 7 women will struggle with/battle a perinatal mental health disorder (also known as postpartum mood disorder[s]). 1 in 10 men (yes men can also experience these) will face a perinatal mental health disorder. These statistics don’t even speak to how many of those individuals battling a perinatal mental health disorder are actually getting help and treatment for those battles. For these reasons (among others), it’s worth raising awareness around the issue and providing you with the appropriate information to ensure you are getting the help needed to feel like you can function and manage as a new parent (as well as start making space for your rediscovering yourself in postpartum)h.

Perinatal Mental Health Disorders: Symptoms

I will be covering overall general symptoms you may experience when struggling with a perinatal mental health disorder. For specific symptoms related to a particular perinatal mental health disorder (such as postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety), stay tuned for future blog articles breaking each of these down. Below are the symptoms to monitor for when wondering about perinatal mental health disorders:

• Feelings of guilt, shame or hopelessness

• Feelings of anger, rage or irritability, or scary and unwanted thoughts

• Lack of interest in the baby or difficulty bonding with the baby

• Loss of interest, joy or pleasure in things you used to enjoy

• Disturbances of sleep and appetite

• Crying and sadness, constant worry or racing thoughts

• Physical symptoms like dizziness, hot flashes, and nausea

• Possible thoughts of harming the baby or yourself

If you recognize any of these symptoms in yourself or your partner, I encourage you to check out the postpartum mood disorders screening tools I cover in my most recent Best Self Therapy YouTube channel. This video will allow you to determine the next steps you need (and/or would like to take) to begin addressing these symptoms.

Perinatal Mental Health Disorders: Risk Factors

If you are human, are currently pregnant, and/or just had a baby (whether you are the birthing person or the partner to the birthing person), you are vulnerable to a perinatal mental health disorder; no one is immune. However, there are specific factors that can increase the likelihood of struggling with a perinatal mental health disorder. You are at higher risk if:

• You have a history of other mental health disorders such as anxiety or depression

• Have thyroid imbalance, diabetes, or endocrine disorders

• Lack safe support from family and friends

• You had pregnancy or delivery complications, faced infertility, miscarriage or infant loss

• You have financial stress or struggle with poverty

• You experienced abrupt discontinuation of lactation

• You have a history of abuse

• Your pregnancy was unwanted or unplanned

Reading these risk factors can be a lot to take in; especially if you are identifying any of them as being a factor for you. I encourage you to take a moment, take a few breaths, and recenter yourself before moving on. If you are aligning with some of these risk factors, there is hope. Please also keep in mind, just because you carry a risk factor it is not guaranteed that you will face a perinatal mental health disorder. These are simply factors to stay aware of to help you monitor your mental and emotional well being throughout your pregnancy and postpartum journey.

Perinatal Mental Health Disorders: Treatment Options

If you are noticing some of the above symptoms in yourself and/or the above risk factors are present in your life, you may be wondering “what do I do?” or “what helps with this?” Below are a few treatment options for perinatal mental health disorders:

• Counseling/Mental health talk therapy with a licensed therapist

• Medication

• Support from others

• Exercise

• Adequate sleep

• Healthy Diet

• Bright light therapy

• Yoga

• Relaxation techniques/grounding techniques

Postpartum itself may be an obstacle to obtaining some of these treatment options (such as getting adequate sleep and exercise) which can only worsen your symptoms. If, after reading these treatment options, you’re thinking “yeah these would be great but how do I obtain that?”, click below to schedule your FREE 15 minute phone consultation so you can begin your journey towards integrating adequate sleep and exercise (along with other coping skills) into your postpartum healing.

You deserve to take care of yourself even in this time of major transition (in fact it’s even more important now). Take the first step today!

Here’s to living a better life as your best self.

Brittany Squillace, MA, LMFT

Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist