Understanding Maternal Depression and How Emotionally Deadly It Is

Depression among pregnant woman is one of the main problems that majority of women faces. Due to the metabolic changes and hormonal imbalance, affection is affected that leads to "pre and postpartum depression". With this condition during the whole course of pregnancy, women may fall to the possibility of being an ineffective parent.

First-time mothers are said to have fears when it comes to the body changes, QZ reported. With the changes in the abdominal size, this can make a woman feel ugly and unfit. Anxiety is also another symptom that may possibly lead to depression as some may feel the unattractiveness due to the physical changes and morning sickness.

In addition to the report, there are ways that doctors advised when the condition will occur. First of all, depression in pregnancy is related to untreated smoking and alcohol drinking which leads to suicidal tendencies, hence it must be stopped while the pregnancy course is ongoing. Aside from depression, it may also cause congenital defect and other health problems to the baby and the mother.

Another treatment that most physicians recommend is taking of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) up, which stabilizes hormonal imbalances that lead to emotional stability. Despite the fact that this drug can cure depression, still it is not advisable to take this on a regular basis as this might harm the baby's health. Another alternative is the practice of exercises like yoga to stimulate happy hormone, instead of SSRI and other antidepressant drugs for precautions.

According to the study conducted by Paediatrics & Child Health, maternal depression is considered as a threat to the socioemotional and cognitive development of the child. The study implies that emotional aspect must be healthy to preserve the well-being of both the mother and the infant. Furthermore, family support, especially the husband is necessarily needed for emotional stability of the wife.