Anxiety tough for new parents
Janine Gard is a diploma-qualified birth educator (2005) and founder of Bellies to Babies antenatal and postnatal classes. She has helped more than 3700 parents prepare themselves mentally, emotionally and physically for their journey to parenthood .
Up to one in five mumsand one in 10 dads will experience perinatal anxiety and/or depression. Having a baby is lifechanging. It can deliver a lot of love, joy and fulfilment but it can also createdemandsand responsibilities that feel relentless, difficult andscary.
Sometimes parents have difficulty adjusting to the manyphysical, emotional, psychological and social challenges of parenting. Everyone experiences symptomsof perinatal anxiety and depressiondifferently. Thewayit affects you can depend on a range of factors. Yourownphysical, emotional and mental make-up and stressful external situations maycombine to increase the risk of you developing symptomsof perinatal anxiety and/or depression.
Perinatal anxiety and depression can be mild, moderate or severe. The symptomscan begin suddenly after birth or gradually in the weeks and months after. The combination and severity of symptomswill be different for every parent.
AnxietySymptoms:
Changes with your mood: Persistent generalised worry, often focused on the health or wellbeing of your baby
■ Feeling nervous, onedge, stressed and panicky
■ Abruptmoodswings, easily irritated
■ Feelings of dread or impendingdoom
■ Excessive fears about life with your baby and your identity as a parent
■ Racing thoughts, thinking about all the ‘what if’s’ (catastrophising)
■ Developing obsessive or compulsive thoughts Intrusive thoughts Feeling isolated, scared and lonely even around loved ones
Changes with your behaviour:
■ Panic attacks (racing heart, chest pain, breathless, shaking — like you might pass out)
■ Easily startled, feeling scared for no good reason Disrupted sleep patterns Elevated breathing and heartrate, muscle tension
■ Vertigo: feelingdizzy, faint, trembly
Appetite changes Changes to libido Urges to self-harm Developing obsessive or compulsive behaviours (eg: excessive checking of baby’s breathingwhenthey’re asleep, cleaning, endless internet searches related to infant health or other concerns)
Anxietyand relationshipsmayalso be affected:
■ Avoiding people or places that might trigger anxiety or a panic attack
■ Worry about telling your postnatal care teamwhat’s
DepressionSymptoms: Changes with your mood: Feeling sad, low, hopeless, frequent crying
■ Difficulty with focus, concentration or memory, ‘brain fog’
■ Feelingdisconnected from your baby and loved ones Abruptmoodswings Angry, frustrated, easily irritated
■ Feeling worthless, ashamed, critical self-talk
■ Feeling isolated and lonely even around others
■ Thoughts of death or suicide
Changes with your behaviour:
■ Lacking energy or motivation Persistent fatigue Disrupted sleep patterns Appetite changes Changes to libido Engaging in risk-taking behaviour (eg substance use, overspending)
■ Urges to self-harm