Do You Know Your Risk Factors for PMADs?
Learning to care for your emotional &psychological well-being during pregnancy & postpartum is every bit as important as how you care for your physical health.
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are common, yet many parents don't recognize symptoms or know their own risk factors. It’s also common for new parents to not know what to do for themselves when they begin to have problems coping during this important stage of life. The transition to parenthood isn’t easy, with so many changes happening all at once- the way your body is changing, your identity and sense of self, shifts in relationships and even the loss of how life was before pregnancy. And if you experience crisis or loss during pregnancy or postpartum, you are likely struggling to make sense of what has happened. Understanding what may put you at risk for PMADs and checking in on your mental health is every bit as important as the way you care for your physical health.
Efforts to Prevent Postpartum Anxiety and Depression
In 2019, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force announced their recommendation for preventing maternal anxiety and depression, recommending that doctors refer their patients to counseling—-before, during and after pregnancy. Their findings point to the effectiveness of counseling in preventing and treating postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, in particular Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Interpersonal Therapy.
Read the full article here:
Know Your Risk Factors for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs)
As with any health issue, staying well means knowing when you’re at risk. There are a number of things that can increase your risk for PMADs. Knowing your risk factors helps you take care of yourself before there is a problem, or before symptoms become so overwhelming that they interfere with your life and relationships. Risk factors include:
History of depression or anxiety
History of trauma, including childhood abuse and neglect, previous sexual assaults
Lack of social or family support
Previous miscarriages, TFMR
Baby loss, still birth, newborn death
Complications during pregnancy or the birth process
Traumatic loss
How Counseling and Therapy Can Help
PMADs are treatable, AND there are things you can do to manage your risk. Counseling can help you in the following ways:
Learn new tools to support you in meeting the demands of parenting
Get support in exploring and navigating changes in your relationships, your identity, and your new role as parent.
Develop a preventive self-care plan for your emotional and psychological wellness during pregnancy and postpartum
Strengthen your support system
Learn to ask for help and assert your needs
Build self-care and coping skills to minimize your risk and manage symptoms of mood and anxiety
Grieve your losses
Heal unresolved trauma
PMADS impact the whole family. Learning how to care for your mental health is one of the best things you can do to take care of yourself AND your family. I hope this note is helpful in encouraging you to expand your definition of self care to include keeping tabs on your mental health!
