Myth: Pregnancy is the happiest time in a woman’s life.

Myth: Pregnancy is the happiest time in a woman’s life. 

Pregnancy is a high risk time for mood and anxiety disorders. Up to 20% or 1 in 5 women experience a mood or anxiety disorder during pregnancy. 

Women with a previous history of mood and anxiety disorders have a higher risk of recurrence during pregnancy, especially if they stop their medication during pregnancy. 

A joyful couple shares a loving moment on the couch, the woman's pregnancy bringing smiles of anticipation and happiness.

Women with depression who discontinued medication were 5 times more likely to relapse than women who continued medication during pregnancy. 

The risk of relapse in pregnancy is even higher for women with bipolar disorder. 85% of women who discontinued mood stabilizers relapsed during pregnancy compared to 37% who continued treatment. 

Data suggests that some medications can be safely used during pregnancy, but it is still relatively common for women to discontinue medications during pregnancy. 

Deciding whether or not to use medication during pregnancy needs to weigh the risk of medication exposure against the risk of untreated psychiatric illness in the mother. 

Untreated mental illness in mother can result in risks to both the mother and fetus. This means that discontinuing medication in pregnancy is not necessarily the safest option. 

Depression and anxiety during pregnancy are associated with:

Less use of prenatal care

Increased use of substances 

Low birth weight

Preterm delivery

Pre-eclampsia 

C section

Infant admission to NICU for respiratory distress,  low blood sugar, and premature birth. 

Homicide is the leading cause of death during pregnancy and postpartum for US women (Wallace etc, 2022). 

Sources:

https://womensmentalhealth.org/specialty-clinics/psychiatric-disorders-during-pregnancy/

https://everytownresearch.org/dr-maeve-wallace-preventing-pregnant-women-from-intimate-partner-gun-violence/