Pregnancy, birth and early parenthood are times of great change.
During pregnancy most women experience a range of emotions. Your pregnancy hormones may make you more emotional than usual. You may worry about whether your baby will be normal and how you will cope with labour. It helps if you can talk openly about any concerns with your partner or a close friend.
Read more about pregnancy and new parents and visit Dear Mind for many ways to strengthen your mental wellbeing.
Depression and anxiety can occur at any time in your life and can often come to the surface with major events like pregnancy or having a baby.
Around 12% of pregnant women in Australia experience antenatal depression (depression during pregnancy). The risk is higher if you have been depressed in the past.
It is important to keep a check on how you are feeling emotionally and discuss any concerns with your health professional. Let someone know if you are:
Read more on perinatal anxiety or find a health professional at Beyondblue
Partners share many of the experiences of pregnancy.
Partners also experience the worries, problems, pleasure, and the waiting. Sometimes partners may also have issues of their own to work out.
You can read and share information from Dad’s guide to fatherhood and Dads guide to pregnancy.
There is also information in many languages from the Multicultural Health Communication Service.
If you or someone you know is showing signs of depression or anxiety, there are places you can go to for help.
Mental wellbeing during pregnancy, 18 May 2020, [https://www.qld.gov.au/health/children/pregnancy/antenatal-information/mental-wellbeing-during-pregnancy]
This document is uncontrolled when printed. Before using the information in this document you should verify the current content on https://www.qld.gov.au/health/children/pregnancy/antenatal-information/mental-wellbeing-during-pregnancy.