What to know about postpartum anxiety

Postpartum anxiety is the postpartum period in which a person experiences extreme anxiety during the postpartum period. It can be so severe that it affects a person’s ability to perform everyday tasks.

Many people experience postpartum depression, which can occur after giving birth. Postpartum anxiety, or excessive anxiety that occurs after childbirth, is underreported and understudied.

What is postpartum anxiety?

Anxiety is a mental illness that causes symptoms, including anxious thoughts, feelings of stress, and physical symptoms such as high blood pressure.

Postpartum anxiety is excessive worry during the postpartum period, which is the period after the birth of the baby. This type of anxiety can be so severe that it affects the ability to work.

You have had anxiety for 6 months or more. However, some researchers believe that those with symptoms have postpartum depression for at least one month.

Researchers know more about postpartum depression than postpartum anxiety, but according to a 2021 report, between 11% and 21% of women in the U.S. experience postpartum (during pregnancy) anxiety and postpartum illness. In a 2018 study, reliable sources found that 75 percent of women with postpartum anxiety also had symptoms of depression.

Symptom

Although postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression are not the same thing, some reliable sources say that 25 to 50 percent of people with anxiety disorders develop postpartum depression within 2 months of giving birth.

Everyone experiences fear differently.

But the thoughts of those who have experienced postpartum anxiety are often reliable sources:

• out of control
• Run
• to use
• bad feeling
• Hard
• order
• unreasonable (illogical or unrealistic)
• greedy

These uncontrolled, debilitating thoughts focus on a few key problem areas, such as:

• Fear of children and their health
• Fear of the illness or death of a parent or friend
• irrational obsession or fear

Excessive self-blame when things go wrong or you feel guilty

Postpartum anxiety can also cause symptoms, like:

• unexplained fatigue
• sleep disorder
• difficulty concentrating
• increased elevation
• muscle tension
• A feeling of restlessness, restlessness, or irritability
• Heartbeats
• fear for no apparent reason

Postpartum anxiety can make bonding with your baby difficult. It can also negatively affect the child’s mental and physical development. If left untreated, postpartum anxiety disorder can also lead to serious negative consequences such as child neglect and, in extreme cases, death of the child.

Treatment

Common treatments include:

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): Talk briefly with a mental health professional about how to change the behavior of anxious thoughts.

Stress-reducing activities: Exercises that reduce or maintain stress, such as relaxation, mindfulness, yoga, and meditation.

Aromatherapy: Calming or calming essential oils can help reduce or control anxiety caused by stress, especially lavender or bitter orange. Nursing mothers should not apply essential oils to their skin as they can enter the bloodstream and breast milk.

Antidepressants: Drugs such as selective serotonin and norepinephrine inhibitors, SSRIs, and SSRIs, drugs that increase the stability of brain chemicals.

Anti-anxiety medications: Anti-anxiety medications such as benzodiazepines.

Most antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications are only prescribed for moderate to severe postpartum anxiety because they can cause side effects. It can enter breast milk through the bloodstream and harm the baby.

Prevent

Some factors that increase the risk of postpartum anxiety disorders are preventable, such as other anxiety disorders, depression, or the “baby blues.” Baby blues is a very common and short-lived illness. They show symptoms such as involuntary crying, restlessness and irritability within a week or two after birth. People with other mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, should seek treatment during pregnancy. It can help prevent postpartum depression and anxiety.

Some of the other risk factors associated with postpartum anxiety are somewhat preventable.

A reliable source of potential risk factors for postpartum anxiety is:

• Multiple stressful life events or experiencing multiple stressors during pregnancy
• Low social support
• Postpartum life/relationship adjustment issues
• Previous unwanted pregnancy or surgical abortion
• Take measures to cope with difficult situations or major life changes
• Increased fear before birth, fear for the life of the child or during birth
• Concern about the lack of control over the work process
• Lack of confidence in another person’s ability or ability to give birth or assist in childbirth
• Increased concern about parenting skills or abilities
• sleepless
• Career changes

Based on the risk factors listed above, here are some tips for managing depression during pregnancy:

• Manage or reduce stress during and after pregnancy
• Build a strong social support system of friends and family
• Learn to manage stress and life changes
• Talk to obstetricians and other health professionals about ways to reduce anxiety and gain confidence and control.
• Get enough sleep and exercise

When to consult a doctor?

Most parents, especially new parents, experience constant anxiety. People with severe postpartum depression should talk to their doctor.

The following signs and symptoms may indicate that a person should seek medical attention:

• Symptoms that make it difficult to carry out daily activities or care and communication with the child
• Symptoms of postpartum depression
• Worsening of mental or physical symptoms
• Intends to harm yourself or the child
• they continue

Index

Postpartum depression is a common but underdiagnosed condition that causes severe and severe stress during the postpartum period and in the years following.

Some studies show that people are more likely to develop postpartum depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early treatment of postpartum depression and anxiety reduces negative outcomes for individuals and their babies.