Does pregnancy affect your mood?

by Mary Calvagna, MS

The pregnant glow—we've all seen it. Maybe it was a friend, a few months from her due date, looking gorgeous and radiant. Or perhaps in line at the grocery store, the woman behind you, about ready to pop, but still glowing.

And then there is the joy of a new baby. When you can't stop looking at those tiny fingers and counting those precious little toes. When you stay awake at night, just to watch that sweet little bundle of joy sleep. You feel an intense love, but you may, just as intensely, feel overwhelmed. Women may struggle with their emotions during this period. Some may feel sad and not understand why. And a few may be diagnosed with postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression is a type of depression that affects women after giving birth. Feeling sad or having "the blues" after childbirth is not uncommon, but if this depressed mood continues for several days or weeks, it becomes postpartum depression.

Due to some tragic outcomes of postpartum depression, more research is being done to learn how to help women who suffer from it. Childbirth has profound biological, social, and psychological effects. And these effects do not just occur after birth, women experience changes in their body and mind from the moment of conception. Researchers at Bristol University in England focused on how mood is affected both during and after pregnancy. The results of their study were published in the British Medical Journal.*

The study involved more than 9,000 pregnant women. Two questionnaires that evaluate mood and identify depression were used—the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale and the Crown Crisp experiential index depression subscale. The women completed the surveys at 18 and 32 weeks of pregnancy and at 8 weeks and 8 months postpartum.

The scores showed the highest level of depression at 32 weeks of pregnancy and the lowest at 8 months postpartum. The proportion of women with probable depression was as follows:

• 8% at 18 weeks of pregnancy
• 5% at 32 weeks of pregnancy
• 1% at 8 weeks postpartum
• 1% at 8 months postpartum

The study's authors note that self-reporting questionnaires, such as those used here, do not provide a clinical diagnosis of depression. However, the values are consistent with the percentage of women that report depression at other times of life, which is between 10 and 15 percent.

Although awareness of postpartum depression is increasing, depression during pregnancy is still relatively unstudied. This research brings to light the need to seek out and identify depression during pregnancy, as well as after delivery. The study's authors point out that although it is unclear how, the mood state of the mother may have an important affect on the uterine environment and the developing baby.

There is help for depression. Current estimates are that 80% of depression can be treated—if it is identified. Talk with your doctor about how you are feeling. And if you are feeling depressed, ask for a referral to a professional who specializes in women and depression.

To learn more about depression, how to identify it, and how to get help, visit our Depression Center.

* "Cohort study of depressed mood during pregnancy and after childbirth," by J. Evans et al. British Medical Journal, 2001, Volume 323, pp. 257-260.