“The baby touched the shopping cart and put her fingers on her mouth!” “Am I choosing the right baby formula?” “What if the croup is actually pneumonia?” Anxious thoughts like these are normal if they are occasional — they’re simply part of being a mom. But for some of us, these thoughts can morph into a full-blown anxiety attack! How to treat anxiety becomes an important question to ask ourselves.
What is anxiety: Anxiety attack symptoms and how it’s different from depression
Pregnancy and anxiety: Before, during & postpartum plus anxiety assessment
Look around and you can see that mothers are especially vulnerable to anxiety before, during, and post pregnancy.
Anxiety can also skyrocket at the pre-pregnancy stage if getting pregnant is a challenge. “Women with infertility have the same levels of anxiety and depression, as do women with cancer, heart disease and HIV,” writes Dr. Fadi Yahya for the Mayo Clinic.
Once pregnant, modern medicine has given mothers lots to worry about — tests for both mom and fetus abound during the first trimester which is when anxiety levels can be highest because of changing hormones.
Postpartum anxiety, however, has received more attention in the medical community than anxiety during pregnancy. Studies have found the prevalence of postpartum mothers with anxiety to range from 13% to a whopping 40%. Yet many pregnant mothers are unfamiliar with the signs of postpartum anxiety, or know they can ask for a postpartum anxiety assessment with a doctor.
Some signs of perinatal and postpartum anxiety include:
- Being ‘on guard’
- Having a sense of dread that something bad will happen
- Fear that harm will come to the baby
- Difficulty stopping checking or doing things over and over
- Racing thoughts making it hard to concentrate
Remember, the above are all normal worries and actions that mothers go through once in a while. The key question we need to ask ourselves is how often we engage with these thoughts and behaviours.
Ultimately, anxiety is something many, many mothers struggle with. Whether you’re thinking of getting pregnant or three years postpartum, your anxious feelings are valid. What’s important is to keep in touch with your healthcare provider about your mental health, and find friends to talk about your challenges.
One mom, who struggles with anxiety, sums it up best. “I’m not alone and that I’m in good company,” Sunny Chanel previously told Mom.com. “And it reminds me that not all anxiety is necessarily bad; it’s just how you handle it and manage it.”
