Mental health problems that can arise during pregnancy

Good mental health, such as feeling calm and happy, is very necessary during pregnancy, because it greatly affects the health of a pregnant woman and the baby in her womb. The emergence of mental health problems during pregnancy can trigger risky behaviors for pregnancy such as smoking, alcohol consumption, inappropriate nutritional intake, avoiding prenatal care, or triggering dangerous behavior for the mother and her womb.

Unfortunately, feelings of depression and other sources of stress during pregnancy are often ignored and left untreated.

How can pregnancy affect mental health?

Feeling anxious and confused is normal for someone who is going through pregnancy or is about to give birth. However, these sources of stress can increase a person's risk for mental health problems, such as depression and psychotic disorders. The risk is also much higher if the pregnant woman has a previous history of serious mental health disorders.

Mental health problems in pregnant women can also persist for some time after giving birth. Not only that, but milder mental health problems, such as mood disorders and feeling anxious, can become more serious at this time. As a result, this not only affects the mental and physical health of a postpartum mother, but can also disrupt the closeness between mother and newborn.

What can trigger mental health problems during pregnancy?

In addition to a history of mental health disorders, several things can also trigger pregnant women to experience mental disorders, including:

Teenage pregnancy
Experiences of experiencing trauma - physical, emotional or sexual violence
History of drug dependence, including smoking behavior
Lack of social support
Being a single parent while pregnant
Has a low socio-economic level
Have experienced domestic violence
Incomplete depression treatment
Experiencing financial difficulties
Having conflicting thoughts about her pregnancy

Mental health problems that may occur during pregnancy

Here are some mental health problems that can arise in pregnant women and how to deal with them.

1. Depression

Depression is the most common mental health disorder during pregnancy. This is often a trigger, and it occurs along with the symptoms of other mental health disorders such as anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and eating disorders.

Depression in pregnant women has varied patterns. In the first and third trimesters, usually the depression will feel more severe, but tends to be lower or decrease in the second trimester.

Depression during pregnancy is treated the same as depression in general with the main treatment options that are safe for the fetus, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychiatric therapy.

2. Panic disorder

Disorders that can arise during pregnancy even though the woman has no history of suffering from it panic disorder . This can arise from anxiety and stress which is marked by an increase in the hormone cortisol.

If left untreated, increased cortisol can affect fetal development in the womb.

Treatment without drugs can be done by means of cognitive and supportive behavioral therapy, applying relaxation techniques, application sleep hygiene , as well as dietary arrangements.

3.Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

OCD is a disorder in the form of obsessions and recurring habits that are difficult to control, which can appear in the early period of pregnancy, and increase with pregnancy and postpartum. OCD during pregnancy can seriously interfere with the activities of pregnant women and need to be treated with behavioral therapy or by taking medication.

4. Eating disorders

Although this tends to improve during pregnancy, pattern disorders can still occur during pregnancy. Dietary disorders can not only affect the readiness of pregnant women to give birth normally, but can also increase the risk of postpartum depression and can impact the delivery of low birth weight babies.

5. Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is a disorder that occurs recurrently in pregnant women, but its incidence occurs more frequently after childbirth.

Like bipolar disorder in general, it can be treated with medication mood stabilizer, but requires examination and consideration of risks and benefits. However, monitoring the psychiatric and behavioral conditions of pregnant women with bipolar disorder is of the utmost importance.

6. Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that can increase or decrease during pregnancy. Pregnant women with this disorder need supervision and treatment by a doctor.

Schizophrenia has an impact on the health of mothers and babies due to inappropriate treatment, can lead to premature birth and low birth weight, to the death of fetuses and pregnant women.

Treatment of symptoms of acute psychosis during pregnancy is imperative, to reduce the intensity and impact of schizophrenia. This includes support, treatment and intensive care in the hospital. Therapy electroconvulsive also needed to treat symptoms of depression in sufferers.