Depression and Pregnancy

Depression and Pregnancy – Separating Fact from Fiction

Throughout the past decades, there have been a variety of misconceptions about depression and pregnancy. Many doctors used to believe that depression could be relieved during pregnancy simply due to the shifts in hormones a female experiences once they become pregnant. Recent studies, however, have shown that this link between alleviating depression and pregnancy is simply not true.  Actually, according to some psychiatrists from Massachusetts, pregnancy is not, in any way, shape or form a scientifically proven way to prevent relapse of clinical depression. Just because a woman becomes pregnant while she is depressed does not mean that there will be some magical link between relieving depression and pregnancy – in fact, the depression could become even worse.

Perhaps the major problem with these new findings about depression and pregnancy is what the woman should do if she becomes severely depressed during pregnancy. It lies on the woman to decide whether or not she should take antidepressants during her pregnancy. Normally this would not be a problem, but several of the leading antidepressants have been known to cause birth defects in the child, prompting the FDA to issue strict guidelines about their use. Unfortunately, those who choose to stop taking their proscribed antidepressant or those who choose to lower their doses are more at risk for relapsing into depression during pregnancy.

The links between depression and pregnancy do not end there, however. A very serious problem known as postpartum depression is also on the rise amongst women after their pregnancy. The symptoms of this type of depression are generally very similar to those experienced during clinical depression, except they are brought on by sudden hormone changes which a woman goes through after the child has been born. Treatment is much the same as for standard depression and ranges from antidepressants to counseling.