Perinatal Anxiety

A new baby can be an exciting time for parents. You’ve made plans for the baby and have imagined everything that it will be. The baby shower, decorating a nursery, having others celebrate this new addition to your family, and the warm baby snuggles.

Many of us have been sold this idea as the ideal experience of becoming a parent.

While there can be many joyful moments, becoming a parent can also be a challenging period. Your body and hormones are changing. There may be less support than what you expected, less sleep, and for roughly 6 % of pregnant women, 17% of postpartum women, and 10% of men, they develop anxiety.

While a certain degree of anxiety is common when becoming a new mother or father, some parents experience debilitating and excessive anxiety. It can, but does not always, occur alongside perinatal depression and can show up during pregnancy or after the six-month postpartum checkups with your physician.

A few common symptoms of perinatal anxiety include:

• Inability to relax

• Racing thoughts and fears

• Increased irritability

• Sense of losing your identity

• Decreased appetite and sleep

• Experiences of nausea or dizziness

• A constant sense of worry or dread that something terrible is going to happen

Perinatal anxiety can sometimes take the form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A new parent may experience obsessions, often presenting as persistent and intrusive thoughts, and will carry out these obsessions in the form of compulsions to mitigate the fears.

Perinatal anxiety can cause you to feel like you are the only one experiencing these fears and thoughts. It is not true.

You are not alone, and you deserve support.

Tell someone in your support system and talk to your physician or mental health provider. If you do not have a mental health provider, you can visit Psychology Today or Postpartum Support International to locate a provider and support groups near you.