Counselling for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders

“What if I drop the baby? Am I failing as a parent? Everything just feels so hard. Maybe I shouldn’t have had this baby.”

If these thoughts sound familiar, you may be experiencing some of the normal fears and concerns associated with the transition through the perinatal period. If these thoughts and the associated feelings are beginning to impact your ability to complete activities of daily living or to interfere with your ability to care for yourself and/or your children, you may be experiencing a Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder.

Perinatal Mood and Anxiety disorders (PMADs) comprise a variety of different types of mental health issues that can emerge in the perinatal period (which includes any time during pregnancy up to 1 year postpartum). You are probably already familiar with Postpartum Depression, which is a type of PMAD, but you might not know that symptoms of depression or anxiety may begin to appear while you are pregnant. PMADs also include diagnoses such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), or Panic Disorder.

Some of the symptoms of PMADs may include:

• Sadness or numbness;
• Nervousness, restlessness or panic;
• Irritation or anger;
• Insomnia or increased need for sleep;
• Issues with eating;
• Difficulty focusing or thinking clearly about anything other than the thing you’re worried about; and
• Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you are not alone, and help is available. Speak to your doctor about how you are feeling and consider starting therapy to help uncover how your thoughts and feelings are influencing your experiences. Doing so may help you to explore situations in a new way and to develop better coping mechanisms and problem-solving skills.