Symptom series: Perinatal mood and Anxiety disorders(intro)

I’m pretty sure you have heard of the term postpartum depression. You may have even heard of postpartum anxiety. But do you really know what those diagnoses look like and how they may affect the people who experience them?

You should know that term postpartum depression can be used with a broad stroke, often including other similar but very different diagnoses. To set the stage for the rest of the series, there is a more appropriate umbrella term called Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) that includes mental health issues women experience while pregnant or postpartum. Below I have listed the current diagnoses that fall under PMADs.

In this series, each post will be short and sweet. I want to break down common symptoms of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders to hopefully help cue you of what you or a loved one may be experiencing. This is by no means an exhaustive list and should not be viewed as a checklist for self-diagnoses. Instead consider these a prompt. If you or a loved one are experiencing these things, please reach out to a professional as treatment is available.

Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders

• Prenatal depression

• Prenatal anxiety

• postpartum anxiety

• postpartum depression

• postpartum psychosis

• postpartum bipolar disorder

• postpartum OCD

• postpartum PTSD

Please know you are not alone, I am here. If you have any comments or questions about PMADs, feel free to comment below.

#maternalmentalhealth #perinatalmentalhealth #pregnancy #postpartum #mentalhealth #women #motherhood