38-year-old Lambrina Gimian always wanted to be a mother. But after meeting her husband and deciding to start family planning, instead of excitement, she felt something else: anxiety.
“I felt constantly on edge, I had trouble sleeping and a mind that struggled to shut down,” says Gimian, who is based in Melbourne and works in community mental health.
While postpartum anxiety is a widely recognized mental health issue, prenatal or preconception anxiety—an intense or prolonged feeling of worry, stress, or fear that some people experience when planning or trying for a baby—is still not commonly understood or accepted.
However, a recent survey by Antenatal Anxiety and Depression Australia (PANDA) found the condition to be widespread, with all 125 Australian respondents reporting that it is the biggest stressor for women during childbirth, which spans the first year after giving birth.
“What’s remarkable is that it ranks above anxiety about childbirth (55 percent), sleep (57 percent) or even nutrition (60 percent),” says Julie Bornenhoff, clinical psychologist and chief executive of Panda.
“For many people, the moment they decide to try for a baby is the moment when the uncertainty becomes very real. Thinking about childbirth, miscarriage, what they eat and drink, age and whether their body will ‘cooperate’ quickly overwhelms them.”
For Gamine, much of this anxiety stems from worry about Huntington’s disease, an inherited neurodegenerative disorder, which her mother was diagnosed with in 2013.
“We found out that my brother and I had a 50 percent chance of inheriting it, so when my husband and I started trying for a baby, having that in the back of my mind … was obviously a huge concern.”
With Huntington’s disease, among other genetic conditions, being screenable through IVF, the couple decided to pursue this path. Now the mother of a five-year-old son, Gaiman says it was helpful, but even more so after receiving a reassuring test result.
“The waiting was definitely the hardest part: waiting between appointments for test results, waiting for results that were completely out of your hands.”
Other factors, such as the pressure to have a “perfect birth,” are also exacerbated by social media, which promotes content about “natural” childbirth and the happy postpartum period.
Dr Melanie Hemsley, GP at Jane Hills for Women’s Health, says social media can paint a very bleak picture of pregnancy, pregnancy and parenting. “This can result in unrealistic expectations and significant distress when an individual’s actual experience differs from what they perceive,” he says.
Unfortunately, while prenatal anxiety is common, experts say the health system is not designed to support parents during this period.
“Preconceived notions don’t come with regular care or regular mental health screenings,” Bornenhoff says. “Individuals and couples are largely left alone to explore their feelings and concerns, especially those who have been trying to conceive for a long time.”
This was the case of 36-year-old Daniel Osgood, who was having trouble conceiving and losing pregnancies with his ex-partner, which contributed to his antenatal anxiety.
“After more than 12 months of trying and being pregnant, we lost the baby,” says the Central Coast father of one. “It was a huge punch to the heart. It was like why isn’t this working? Is my universe telling me something?”
Eventually, the couple found success with IVF, but during the pregnancy, Osgood said his anxiety increased, due to his socially disadvantaged upbringing and a deep fear of whether he would repeat his father’s patterns.
Osgood, who works as a Disability and Social Inclusion Manager, says: “I had a very young childhood. I moved around a lot. My parents drank a lot, and there was domestic violence; I saw a lot of things that children should never see in their lives.” “My biggest fear was falling out like my dad.”
Catastrophic thinking and comparing oneself to others were two of Osgood’s main forms of anxiety. He says that once his son was born, the lack of sleep and his partner’s painful birth made the postpartum period even more difficult.
Hemsley says it’s common, early experiences of worry and anxiety often carry over into pregnancy and the newborn period, affecting early relationships and overall mental health.
“We know that one of the biggest predictors of postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety is pre-anxiety or depression,” she says.
But it is also important to note that there is a difference between normal anxiety and anxiety.
“Anxiety is different in that it is often chronic and often has significant cognitive, emotional and even physical manifestations,” she says.
It can also be different in men and women, says Matthew Aquilina, psychologist and clinical team manager at the Gidet Foundation Australia.
“Women will generally have a slightly more internal presentation, such as a sense of exhaustion, where a man is more depressed, withdraws socially or has problems in other situations like work.”
For the first three months after the birth of her son, Osgood says she struggled at work and socially. His relationship with his partner deteriorated.
“I’ll forget showers, I’ll forget my groceries, and I’ll make excuses not to go out with friends,” she says.
It wasn’t until he confided in a friend that he sought professional help. “He was like, ‘Men talk about their feelings – boys don’t.’ So I talked to a counselor about it, and it really helped,” she says.
Asking for support is crucial, experts agree, so starting a conversation about mental health before trying to conceive.
“Early conversations as part of routine prenatal care help normalize mental health, not just address it in crisis,” says Bornenhoff. “Support can start by visiting a GP, a psychologist, a fertility specialist or talking to a fertility provider.”
Get the most out of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with us Good Life Newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.
From our colleagues
#Worse #childbirth #postpartum #anxiety #baby