Pregnancy and depression is a commonly encountered condition during pregnancy. This is because pregnancy is a particularly fertile field for depression which may either start a new or even worsen if already there is a problem. This is because the extra physical, financial, beside marital, and sexual stresses come no matter one is ready or not. Besides, any new feelings of poor self-image can reinforce the already negative self-image problems, during pregnancy and depression.
Any obstetrician is qualified enough to handle mild depression, anxiety, “the blues,” as well as general moodiness. But severe depression is a serious illness which requires the additional care of a psychiatrist, as many people even die from it! Hence all moodiness should be questioned.
Depression diagnosis tends to be a confusing challenge. Clinical depression refers to an inappropriate reaction to things, which may be known or unknown. Predisposing factors which make depression more likely include childhood trauma, such as death or illness of a parent or sibling besides childhood sexual abuse, which may distort the well-being of a person on many levels. Pregnancy and depression tend to occur in case of a family history of depression or even lower socioeconomic status, besides stress or substance abuse.
During pregnancy, feeling depressed is a problem. This is because a woman, once feeling fit, now experiences nagging physical complaints which are caused by something over which she has no control. As a woman’s abdomen tends to expand, this physical sign is symbol of a shift from seeing herself as a woman to now seeing herself as a mother. It is a change from seeing herself as a sexual being to now seeing herself as a maternal one.
But pregnancy and depression may not be a problem for a couple who are pregnant for all the right reasons. Or for those who have put themselves into this big picture of what pregnancy is all about as they will ultimately find a way in order to stay afloat in this endless sea of uncertainty.