Depression and pregnancy

Pregnancy can be an emotional time. You might feel excited and elated one moment and stressed and unsure the next. This is completely normal. As your body goes through physical changes, it's common for your mood to go up and down.

But if your low moods or negative thoughts persist and interrupt your daily life, you may be developing depression. Up to 1 in 10 people have depression during pregnancy.

You might hear the terms antenatal, postnatal and perinatal depression and wonder what the difference is between them:

• Antenatal depression is depression that starts during pregnancy.
• Postnatal depression is depression that develops up to a year after childbirth.
• Perinatal depression is depression during pregnancy and up to a year after birth.

Mental health problems are common during pregnancy and after birth. They can affect you if you are the pregnant and birthing parent, as well as your partner.

The symptoms of depression (Opens in new tab) during pregnancy are the same as those when depression happens at any other time in your life.

Symptoms can include:

• feeling low or numb
• having no interest or pleasure in things you normally enjoy
• changes in your sleep or appetite
• tiredness and loss of energy
• feeling helpless, hopeless or worthless
• problems with concentration and making decisions
• having thoughts of harming yourself

While depression can affect anyone during pregnancy, it may be more likely if you have:

• a history or family history (Opens in new tab) of mental health problems
• a lack of support
• experienced any type of trauma or abuse (Opens in new tab)
• current or recent stressful life events
• a history of alcohol or drug abuse (Opens in new tab)
• experienced pregnancy loss or childbirth-related trauma
• pregnancy complications

Your doctor or midwife will ask about your mood and feelings during your antenatal check-ups. They will ask even if you don't report any symptoms. This is called screening, and it's important so that depression can be diagnosed early.

If you do have symptoms, it's important to see your doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor will want to know how you are feeling and about your general health.

There are some tests available that can help detect depression in pregnancy. These are questionnaires, and include the:

• Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale
• Antenatal Risk Questionnaire

If you have depression during pregnancy, your GP, midwife or obstetrician may refer you to a:

• psychologist (Opens in new tab)
• psychiatrist
• social worker (Opens in new tab)

There are treatments available for depression during pregnancy.

Psychological therapy

Psychological therapy or counselling can help in the treatment of depression. Therapy aims to give you support, education and information on how to understand and cope with depression.

Therapies may include:

• cognitive behavioural therapy (Opens in new tab) (CBT)
• interpersonal psychotherapy (Opens in new tab) (IPT)

CBT can help you identify negative, unrealistic thoughts. It then encourages you to challenge those thoughts by approaching your thinking in a different way.

IPT can help you resolve things that may be contributing to your depression, such as past losses or conflicts.

Medicines

In some cases, your doctor may prescribe antidepressant medicines (Opens in new tab) to help treat depression.

Remember to check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any medicine while you are pregnant or breastfeeding. This includes over-the-counter medicine (Opens in new tab) and supplements (Opens in new tab). They will be able to tell you what medicines are safe for you and your baby.

Self-care

If you are experiencing depression during your pregnancy, there are some things that may help. These can include:

• exercise or an enjoyable physical activity
• eating healthily
• getting enough sleep
• getting emotional and practical support from loved ones
• practising mindfulness (Opens in new tab), relaxation and meditation (Opens in new tab)

Some types of exercise are not recommended during pregnancy. If you're not sure, talk to your doctor. It's important to get the care you need if you have depression during pregnancy. Untreated depression and anxiety during this time can affect your health and relationships.

It's okay to ask for help.

If you or someone you know is showing signs of depression in pregnancy, see your doctor. It's important to seek help early.

PANDA (Opens in new tab) (Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia) has information on mental health problems during and after pregnancy:

• Phone their National Helpline on 1300 726 306.
• Find support in different languages (Opens in new tab) and support for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people (Opens in new tab).

COPE (Opens in new tab) (Centre of Perinatal Excellence) provides support for the emotional challenges of becoming a parent. They also have information in different languages.

Beyond Blue (Opens in new tab) offers support online, or you can phone 1300 22 4636.

For advice and to get connected to local mental health services, call Medicare Mental Health (Opens in new tab) on 1800 595 212. Check the operating times.

Languages other than English

• The Multicultural Centre for Women's Health has a factsheet on perinatal depression and anxiety (Opens in new tab), available in 19 community languages.
• PANDA have a checklist (Opens in new tab) available in many languages to understand how you're feeling and if you might need support.

Information for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples

• ForWhen provides mental health and wellbeing support for (Opens in new tab) Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people during pregnancy and afterwards.
• Call 13YARN (Opens in new tab) on 13 92 76 to talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander crisis supporter.

Information for sexually and gender-diverse families

• COPE (Centre of Perinatal Excellence) has resources and tips for LGBTIQ+ parents and rainbow families (Opens in new tab).