Pregnancy and Post-natal Mental Health

If you have found this page because someone you know has been affected by early pregnancy loss or the death of a baby, please check our Get Help Now section for support (hyperlink to Get Help Now section on this tile), or go to our bereavement and loss page for more information (hyperlink to ‘Bereavement and loss’ tile).

Pregnancy and the first year after giving birth (the ‘perinatal’ period) can be an emotional time.  Some people have a very positive experience of becoming a parent, but many of us struggle at some point in the journey.  These are just a few of the things that the parent who is pregnant, or who gave birth, might have been dealing with:

• massive hormone changes
• fears about birth
• lack of sleep
• their body shape and size changing
• feeling overwhelmed by responsibility for their baby
• other people’s ideas about how they should look after their body and their baby
• comparing their experience of pregnancy, birth and early parenthood to how they imagined it would be

It is normal for your mood be up and down, and to worry more, when you are pregnant or have a new baby.  If someone you know has been feeling like this for a while though, or it has been affecting their life in a serious way, encourage them to talk about how they are feeling, and support them to visit their doctor.  Post-natal (sometimes called post-partum) depression, anxiety, and obsessions and compulsions are all treatable mental health conditions, and they do not mean that someone is a bad parent.  Click here if you would like to find out more about depression, anxiety, or obsessions and compulsions (hyperlinks to ‘depression’, ‘anxiety’, and ‘obsessions and compulsions’ tiles).

Birth trauma

Giving birth is one of the most incredible things that the human body will ever go through.  Sadly, sometimes giving birth can also be a traumatic experience.  This can happen, for example, if there were complications with the birth and the person had to have an intervention, like an emergency c-section, or if either they or their baby were very unwell during/after the birth, or if the birth caused injuries to either them or their baby.  Birthing partners – friends, family members and professionals who were there at the birth – can experience birth trauma too.  You can find out more about trauma and post-traumatic stress here (hyperlink to ‘trauma and post-traumatic stress’ tile).

Post-partum psychosis

Postpartum psychosis is a rare condition, which usually starts within the first few weeks after giving birth, and can be very serious.  If someone who is pregnant has a family member who has had post-partum psychosis, or if the pregnant person has a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder or Schizophrenia, it is more likely that they could develop post-partum psychosis.  Encourage them to talk to their GP or midwife, who will be able to make a plan with them to manage it if it did happen.  If you think someone you know might have post-partum psychosis, it’s important that you get help as soon as possible.  You can find out more about psychosis here (hyperlink to ‘psychosis’ tile).