Babies Tale

A great deal has been written about postnatal depression, but very little about prenatal depression, although it is certainly common for women to be depressed in some stages of pregnancy. Many women feel overwhelmingly tired. Social engagements, work, housework and relationships all suffer if other people do not understand:

“I used to go to bed whenever I could. The house got really, really messy because I couldn’t face cleaning it. I couldn’t be bothered to cook nice meals and I didn’t have the energy to go to parties or to movies with friends. My husband used to groan because every night about nine o’clock I’d just say, I’m exhausted, I’m going to bed now.’ A lot of the time I was too tired for sex as well.”

Depression is perhaps particularly common in a second pregnancy, especially when the woman has a toddler or young child to care for. No one makes quite the same fuss over you after the first pregnancy, and it is harder to get the extra rest you need. Working women may find the second pregnancy particularly tiring and feel that they are not being efficient at their work, which can contribute to feelings of depression.

Older women in pregnancy, particularly, may worry about the health of their baby and about the birth itself-whether they will have complications and whether there will be anything wrong with the baby. Their attitude may depend to some degree on the attitude of the health professionals who care for them in pregnancy:

“I found out I was pregnant by accident in my early forties, too late to have an abortion or even the tests my provider was very nervous about it and my husband worried and thought something would be wrong. The scans indicated a different due date and showed the baby was small-it was a scary time.

“I worried about the birth because of my age, but the genetic counselor was fantastic. He said, ‘You’re a healthy woman-you should have a super-easy birth’ - he was very reassuring.”

Leave a Reply