Pregnancy and the postpartum period are often a time of pure joy and excitement as you welcome your new bundle of love into your life. But what happens when you don’t feel as excited or joyful as you expected to? What do you do when you or someone you care about isn’t feeling all the warm fuzzies that come with the arrival of a new baby?
For many new parents, joy and anticipation are overshadowed by feelings of uncertainty and anxiety. Anxiety is common during pregnancy as well as in the months after giving birth. It can range from mild to debilitating. Approximately 15% of women experience symptoms of anxiety in the perinatal period(i), which is generally from the time a woman is pregnant up to 1 year after birth. It is estimated that as much as 85% of women who experience anxiety in the perinatal period do not receive adequate treatment. In addition to the impact that this has on the new mother’s emotional, physical, and mental health and wellbeing, there are also significant impacts on the well-being of unborn, newborn, and developing children, as well as significant others, family members, and friends(ii). While it is more likely for a woman who has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder prior to her pregnancy to experience perinatal anxiety, it can be experienced by any woman at this time in her life.
So how do you know if you have perinatal anxiety and how can you tell when it is cause for concern?
Anxiety is our natural response when we feel threatened or unsafe. Perinatal anxiety involves changes in the ways you think, feel and act during your pregnancy and after the birth of your baby. Whether a threat is real or imagined, the symptoms that you will experience are the same. These include stomach issues, shallow breathing, tightness in the chest, increased heart rate, muscle tension, and sleep disruptions. As you can imagine, it is difficult to enjoy the new baby in your arms when you just don’t feel like yourself.
You may experience anxious thoughts, such as worry, doubting your abilities as a parent, or even worst-case scenarios like something bad happening to the baby. Some parents may even worry that they might be the reason for harm coming to their baby. New parents, especially moms, may seek constant reassurance from others to validate whether they are doing it “right”, while others may keep these thoughts to themselves. Parents experiencing anxiety in the post-partum period may exhibit behaviors linked to extreme over-protectiveness, such as avoiding places, people, or situations because they are afraid of the baby being exposed to germs and not allowing others to take care of or even hold the baby. Other possible signs of anxiety can include irritability, forgetfulness, and trouble concentrating.
Coping with the arrival of a new baby can be difficult and while it is normal for many new parents to feel a certain amount of anxiety, if anxiety symptoms are disruptive to daily life, happening frequently or causing distress, it could be time to seek out support. Having a community of family and friends is helpful, but some new parents may feel like they need support at a deeper level. If that is the case, you will want to speak with your healthcare provider about how you are feeling and the options available to you. There are also many tools that we use in a therapy setting that can quickly help you with the symptoms you are experiencing so you can get back to enjoying your beautiful baby. If you would like to learn more about how anxiety therapy can help you in the perinatal period, please contact me for more information.