Depression and Pregnancy What is the connection?
At one point, doctors believed that hormones associated with pregnancy have been well protected against depression. In recent years, however, has been a growing body of evidence that depression during pregnancy is a serious problem, affecting a 10-20% of all women - in the same proportion that women suffer pregnancy without adding to the equation. With numbers like that, and with the growing concern that depression may be reflected in the baby's health is important to know something about how depression and pregnancy are connected.
First, is important to recognize what depression is and what are the symptoms.
Depression is a mood disorder that can have biological and behavioral roots. Although healthy women frequently experience certain symptoms following pregnancy, depression is usually diagnosed when the patient has three or more the following symptoms develop within two weeks:
- A feeling that nothing feels enjoyable or fun
- Feel blue, sad or empty "" most of the day, every day
- Difficulty concentrating
- extreme irritability restlessness or excessive crying
- Trouble sleeping or sleeping all the time
- Extreme or unending fatigue
- A desire to eat all the time or do not want to eat at all
If a woman experiences at least three of them, may suffer from clinical depression and should report on symptoms to your doctor.
Depression is a serious condition and is more than having "Blues." Untreated depression can affect the ability of women to take care of yourself during pregnancy, and can push a woman to neglect essential care personnel and damage to her unborn child. In extreme cases, this can also pose a risk of suicide and abuse substances such as snuff, alcohol and illicit drugs. Depression can also interfere with the ability to create links with the child, and may also increase the risk of having an episode of postpartum depression postpartum depression (). Furthermore, studies recently showed possible links between maternal depression and severe conditions such as premature birth, low birth weight, spontaneous miscarriages false and gestational hypertension or preeclampsia.
Doctors believe there are several major causes that can contribute to depression during pregnancy. Having a history current clinical depression or PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a severe form of premenstrual syndrome or PMS) is very important including a predisposition to disease may increase the chances of pregnancy and the procession will focus on an episode. Age at the time of pregnancy also is a factor - the younger the woman, the greater the risk of depression.
There are also environmental factors to consider. If she lives alone, without the support of a partner and limited social support, if there is already several children in the family, or if there is a history of marital conflict and ambivalence of pregnancy, there is an increased risk of depression more clinical.
If a pregnant woman believed to be in a depression, should consult a doctor immediately. This is not a condition that simply disappear, treatment to avoid serious consequences mentioned above is required.
Fortunately, there are many ways to treat depression during pregnancy. One of the most important is for women to step back and realize that she does not have to everything he did before pregnancy. If a social support network and partners are available, with an effort largely self-inflicted to try to maintain a normal life routine before pregnancy can be mitigated by doing less while others take longer. If these resources are not available, psychotherapy is an effective way to help the patient obtain the root causes feelings of helplessness and low self-esteem, enabling and better cope.
Take care of yourself is essential - the development of good sleep habits, diet and regular exercise series and other treatments also effective. Also medicines are available, but as with all drugs taken during pregnancy, there are risks to be taken into account. Some antidepressants have been associated with side effects serious for the baby and any use of these drugs should be examined carefully with a doctor trained to ensure that risks are balanced with the benefits. Given that depression is a serious disease, there are times when the benefits of treating depression with drugs outweigh the potential disadvantages.
As with a medical condition that occurs during pregnancy, depression needs diagnosis and specialized treatment by a specialist trust. Women at risk of depression or who are experiencing symptoms should address the issue as soon as possible. About the Author
Craig Smith is a freelance writer who writes about mental health topics including Community Support Services | Depression Anxiety Treatment