Depression During Pregnancy & Postpartum: A woman with PPD might experience feelings of anger, sadness, irritability, guilt, lack of interest in the baby, changes in eating and sleeping habits, trouble concentrating, thoughts of hopelessness and sometimes even thoughts of harming the baby or herself. Symptoms can start anytime during pregnancy or the first year postpartum. They differ for everyone, and might include the following: Feelings of anger or irritability Lack of interest in the baby Appetite and sleep disturbance Crying and sadness Feelings of guilt, shame or hopelessness Loss of interest, joy or pleasure in things you used to enjoy Possible thoughts of harming the baby or yourself.
Anxiety During Pregnancy & Postpartum: A woman with PPA may experience extreme worries and fears, often over the health and safety of the baby. Some women have panic attacks and might feel shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, a feeling of losing control, and numbness and tingling. Approximately 6% of pregnant women and 10% of postpartum women develop anxiety. Sometimes they experience anxiety alone, and sometimes they experience it in addition to depression.The symptoms of anxiety during pregnancy or postpartum might include constant worry, feeling that something bad is going to happen, racing thoughts, inability to sit still, or physical symptoms.
Pregnancy OCD or Postpartum OCD: Women with PPOCD can have 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 very unlikely to ever act on them. Learn more about PPOCD, including risk factors, symptoms and treatment options. Postpartum Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed of the perinatal disorders. You do not have to be diagnosed with OCD to experience these common symptoms of perinatal anxiety. It is estimated that as many as 3-5% of new mothers and some new fathers will experience these symptoms. The repetitive, intrusive images and thoughts are very frightening and can feel like they come “out of the blue.”
Postpartum Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: PPTSD is often caused by a traumatic or frightening childbirth or past trauma, and symptoms may include flashbacks of the trauma with feelings of anxiety and the need to avoid things related to that event. Approximately 9% of women experience postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following childbirth. Most often, this illness is caused by a real or perceived trauma during delivery or postpartum. These traumas could include; prolapsed cord, unplanned C-section, use of vacuum extractor or forceps to deliver the baby, baby going to NICU, feelings of powerlessness, poor communication and/or lack of support and reassurance during the delivery, women who have experienced a previous trauma, such as rape or sexual abuse, are also at a higher risk for experiencing postpartum PTSD. Symptoms of postpartum PTSD might include; intrusive re-experiencing of a past traumatic event (which in this case may have been the childbirth itself), flashbacks or nightmares, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, including thoughts, feelings, people, places and details of the event, persistent increased arousal (irritability, difficulty sleeping, hyper-vigilance, exaggerated startle response), anxiety and panic attacks, or feeling a sense of unreality and detachment.
Postpartum Psychosis: postpartum psychosis sufferers sometimes see and hear voices or images that others can’t, called hallucinations. They may believe things that aren’t true and distrust those around them. They may also have periods of confusion and memory loss, and seem manic. This severe condition is dangerous so it is important to seek help immediately. Contact a provider immediately or go to your local ER for assistance.
*** Information collected and shared from https://www.postpartum.net