Tommy’s baby charity has recently released an emotional video 'Talk to someone', appealing to women to speak up about antenatal depression, which so often goes undiagnosed.
According to their research, between 10-15 % of pregnant women suffer from mental health problems and anxiety during pregnancy, but the findings show that pregnancy may not be diagnosed until the postnatal period. Or not diagnosed at all.
‘There is the expectation that a woman’s experience of pregnancy should always be joyous, but the truth is that pregnant women often put emotional and mental pressure on themselves to feel happy all the time’ says Professor Louise Howard from Kings College London. And indeed, pregnant women do often feel the expectation to feel a certain way during pregnancy.
Theresa, 28, from Weymouth, suffered has spoken out about her antenatal depression, which she felt was often dismissed or ignored. ‘I had everything I wanted and yet I was upset and angry,’ she explains. ‘People would say to me that I was crying over nothing, but actually I was crying over everything, all the time’. It wasn’t until a midwife casually asked her how she was coping that Theresa opened up. She then spoke to her GP who recommended counselling, which she found to be a great help.
Pregnancy can also cause depression to re-occur, as Abby from Bristol unexpectedly found out when she became pregnant. ‘My baby was very much wanted and I was really looking forward to becoming a mum’, said the 28 year old, ‘so when I started feeling anxious it was a shock’. Abby’s symptoms rapidly escalated, and she began to self-harm. After being admitted to hospital Abby was assigned a crisis team to help her when she returned home, and eventually received counselling.
Tommy’s is keen to urge women who experience these feelings to speak to their doctor or midwife as soon as possible. In order to help identify symptoms of depression, they have compiled an information pack on their website.