One in 4 mothers-to-be suffer from mental health problems

ONE in four women develop mental health problems while pregnant, a study has found.

Awareness is growing about post-natal depression – but few people know problems can arrive before the baby is born.

researchers at King’s college london diagnosed mental health problems among 27 per cent of pregnant women.

using a gold- standard psychological screening technique at midwife appointments, they found 11 per cent of women had depression, 15 per cent had anxiety, 2 per cent had eating disorders and 2 per cent obsessive-compulsive disorders, with many women having combinations of problems. these are usually missed because people wrongly believe women always have a feelgood ‘glow’ when they become pregnant.

‘this is a myth,’ said researcher Professor louise Howard, of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s.

‘People think that pregnancy is protective of mental health, and then the post-natal period is a trigger for problems. But in reality problems start during pregnancy or even earlier – it is very common.’ She said rare and serious forms of mental disorders – such as severe post-natal psychosis – may be triggered by childbirth.

But less severe depression and anxiety are likely to start during pregnancy itself.

clinical psychologist Dr camilla rosan of the Mental Health Foundation, an expert in maternity, said pregnancy could lead to anxiety in women about what kind of mother she might be or reactivate problems from her own childhood. the study, funded by the research arm of the NHS and published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, involved 545 pregnant women in South london.

Professor Howard said women are seen so often by medical professionals during pregnancy they should never slip through the net. Her study showed using proper psychological screening tools, based on simple questions about mood, could pick up problems.