Emotions During Pregnancy - Keys To Avoiding Post-Partum Depression

The emotions play an important part during pregnancy. The changing balance of the hormones upsets the emotional balance, and the expectant mother may find that she swings from feeling excited and happy to being miserable and depressed. Even if she is pleased at the news of her pregnancy she will feel anxious and worried about the prospect of becoming a mother. These fears will soon pass, especially if she receives the support, advice and comfort she requires from her partner, family and doctor. Persistent depression and anxiety may affect her sleep and appetite, which will in turn affect her baby. She must therefore discuss any problems with her doctor or health visitor and try to change her attitude of mind. The old saying that a happy mother will produce a happy baby has got an element of truth in it. Doctors will only supply tranquillisers for extreme cases of depression, because of the need to avoid unnecessary drug-taking during pregnancy.

This is a list of alternatives to drugs, which can help to change the emotional state. Can you add to the list?

• A few days away on holiday or visiting relations.

• Going out for the evening to the cinema or a pub, or for a meal.

• Buying a new outfit, or, if the prospective mother enjoys making things, getting some fabric to make a garment.

• Joining an evening or day class and learning a new skill.

• Going along to a local Mother and Baby Group, Young Wives Group, or a branch of the group MAMA (Meet A Mum Association). It is easy to talk over problems with other prospective or new mothers, and encouraging to find that they suffer depression also.

Many new expectant mothers feel guilty because they are depressed; they feel inadequate at the thought of so much responsibility, and they feel insecure at the thought that their husbands may not love them so much as they advance into pregnancy. This is when it is important that the prospective mother realises that these mixed and complicated emotions are all part of her condition and the problems exist only in her own mind.