Georgia HOPE’s NEW Prenatal and Postpartum Mental Health Group

Prenatal and Postpartum “Perinatal” Health

A prenatal or postnatal “perinatal” mental health problem or disorder is one that you experience any time from becoming pregnant and up to a year after you give birth.

Having a baby is a big life event. It’s natural to experience a range of emotions during pregnancy and after giving birth (and lots of hormones). But if any difficult feelings start to have a big effect on your day-to-day life, you might be experiencing a perinatal mental health problem whether this is a new mental health problem, or an episode of a problem you’ve experienced in the past.

Common Perinatal Mental Health Problems:

Perinatal depression
Perinatal anxiety
Perinatal OCD
Postpartum psychosis
Postpartum PTSD

Questions to ask yourself if you’re feeling like you may be struggling with a prenatal or postnatal mental health problem:

Are you pregnant?
Did you recently give birth?
Are you curious about changes you are or might experience in pregnancy and after birth?
Are you feeling sad or depressed?
Do you feel more irritable or angry with those around you?
Are you having difficulty bonding with your baby?
Do you feel anxious or panicky?
Are you having problems with eating or sleeping?
Are you having upsetting thoughts that you can’t get out of your mind?
Do you feel as if you are “out of control” or “going crazy?”
Do you feel like you never should have become a mother?
Are you worried that you might hurt your baby or yourself?

Any of these symptoms, and many more, could indicate that you have a form of prenatal or postnatal mood or anxiety disorder, such as postpartum depression. While many women experience some mild mood changes during or after the birth of a child, 15-20% of women experience more significant symptoms of depression or anxiety. If you are finding things difficult and these feelings, it is important to know that having these feelings is not your fault. You can ask for help or support if you need it. Please know that with informed care you can prevent a worsening of these symptoms and can fully recover. There is no reason to continue to suffer.