Postpartum anxiety outpaces postpartum depression in new mums
Anxiety disorders cause a huge amount of emotional distress, they compromise quality of life, they’re associated with lots of health care cost.
Just when postpartum depression is finally being discussed, a new disorder from which new mothers suffers is on the rise: postpartum anxiety.
In fact, according to a published research from the University of British Columbia, postpartum anxiety has now become more common, with severe anxiety being three to four times more common than depression during pregnancy and early motherhood.
“Psychologist Nichole Fairbrother led a team that studied 310 pregnant women from Metro Vancouver between 2007 and 2010,” said a Vancouver Sun report.
The researchers found that 16% of pregnant women and 17% of new mothers were diagnosed with potential anxiety disorder. In comparison, four of pregnant women and 5% of new mothers has potential depression.
“The implication of this finding is we have a collection of mental health conditions that we’re not paying enough attention to,” Dr. Nicole Fairbrother says. “Anxiety disorders cause a huge amount of emotional distress, they compromise quality of life, they’re associated with lots of health care cost, and they’re impairing, so they interfere with the ability to work.”
She also admitted that their data isn’t yet sufficient, and more research needs to get into the study, but she and her team are certain of one thing.
A mother’s psyche influences her parenting, as well as the quality of the mother-infant relationship being developed; anxious mothers communicate less effectively with their infants.
“If we’re only paying attention to depression, we may be providing inappropriate treatment,” she added. “Women may be getting treated for the wrong thing.”
Next page find out the different types of anxiety disorder
The different types of anxiety disorders
Anxiety is a normal human emotion, just like happiness and frustration and excitement, but people with anxiety disorders describe their condition as more than mere fear. It causes uncommon distress and disrupts its sufferer from going through daily life.
Common symptoms of anxiety include feelings of panic, fear, and uneasiness; problems sleeping; cold or sweaty hands or feet; shortness of breath; heart palpitations; and being unable to be still and calm.
According to WebMD, there are several kinds of anxiety disorders. Here are some of them:
- Panic disorder. People with this condition have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning.
- Social anxiety disorder. Also called social phobia, this involves overwhelming worry and self-consciousness about everyday social situations.
- Specific phobias. These are intense fears of a specific object or situation, such as heights or flying.
- Generalised anxiety disorder. This is excessive, unrealistic worry and tension, even if there's little or nothing to provoke the anxiety.
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