Around one in five women will experience some kind of depression, anxiety or OCD during pregnancy or in the year after giving birth, but they can occur beyond this too, up to two or three years after birth, so don’t discount how you’re feeling if it’s been a while since you baby was born.

It can be really difficult to feel able to talk openly about how you're feeling when you become a new parent. You might feel:

• pressure to be happy and excited

• like you have to be on top of everything

• worried you're a bad parent if you're struggling with your mental health

• worried that your baby will be taken away from you if you admit how you're feeling

But it's important to ask for help or support if you need it. You're likely to find that many new mothers are feeling the same way.

There are different types of perinatal mental health issues (perinatal means anything linked to pregnancy, birth and motherhood). They are: depression, anxiety, OCD, psychosis and PTSD. These will then be identified as being either prenatal (which means before and/or during pregnancy and birth) or postnatal (which means after birth and into the first year of motherhood).

Find more about what each of these mean, how they feel and how you can get help below…

Depression

Postnatal depression is when you have feelings of sadness, hopelessness, guilt or self-blame all the time for weeks or months after you’ve had a baby. Some women have depression when they are pregnant, this is called antenatal depression. 

Having depression can show itself in the following ways:

• constant sadness and low mood

• tearful for no apparent reason

• feeling worthless, guilty and blaming yourself for things

• hopeless about the future

• feeling unable to cope with anything

• irritable, angry, frustrated

• hostile or indifferent to your husband or partner

• hostile or indifferent to your baby

• withdrawing from contact with other people

• problems concentrating and making decisions

• frightening thoughts – for example, about hurting your baby

Read Emma’s story of depression…

Many women do not realise they have postnatal depression, because it can develop gradually. It is entirely treatable with the right support, but asking for help is really important. You can self-refer to the NHS Let’s Talk service by calling (0800 073 2200 for Glos & Herts), or speak to your doctor or health visitor who can help you make the call, or be with you while you do it.

There is more brilliant information on Mind that can help you understand more about depression. And find out more about treatment and support here.

Anxiety

Perinatal anxiety is anxiety experienced during pregnancy or in the year after childbirth.

Having anxiety can show itself in the following ways, which are both physical and emotional:

How your body might feel:

• tense muscles, headaches, feeling lightheaded or dizzy

• pins and needles

• faster breathing, sweating or hot flushes

• a fast, thumping or irregular heartbeat and raised blood pressure

• difficulty sleeping

• needing the toilet more frequently, or less frequently

• a churning in the pit of your stomach

• experiencing panic attacks

How you emotions might be:

• tense, nervous and on edge

• a sense of dread, or fearing the worst

• feeling like the world is speeding up or slowing down

• feeling like other people can see that you’re anxious and are looking at you

• feeling your mind is really busy with thoughts

• dwelling on negative experiences, or thinking over a situation again and again

• feeling restless and not being able to concentrate

• feeling numb

Read Rebecca’s story of anxiety…

Anxiety can come on almost overnight, and it can be really scary. Or it can happen gradually and might take a friend or family member to point out that they think you might need some help. There are lots of treatments and ways to ease your anxiety. Read more about it on the Mind website and see this page for advice on managing anxiety and getting treatment.

OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder that means you become obsessive and compulsive about particular thoughts, ideas worries and activities. If you experience perinatal OCD, you're likely to have obsessions and compulsions that relate to your feelings about being a parent and your baby.

• Obsessions – intrusive thoughts, ideas or urges that repeatedly appear in your mind. For example, thinking that you have been contaminated by dirt and germs, or worrying that you might hurt someone.

• Compulsions – repetitive activities that you feel you have to do. This could be something like repeatedly washing something to make sure it’s clean, or repeating a specific phrase in your head to prevent harm from coming to a loved one.

You might be experiencing some of these things below, some which can be quite severe and frightening:

• excessive washing of clothes, toys or bottles

• keeping your baby away from other people in case they hurt them or contaminate them

• constant checking on the baby – for example, waking them up when they're asleep to check on them

• intrusive thoughts of accidentally harming your baby while you're pregnant by eating dangerous foods or taking the wrong medication

• repeatedly asking people around you for reassurance that your baby hasn't been hurt or abused

• mentally going over what happened each day to reassure yourself that you've not been responsible for harming your baby

• fear of making the wrong decision – for example, about vaccinations or medical treatment

• fear of being responsible for giving a child a serious disease, such as HIV

• avoiding changing soiled nappies out of fear that you might accidentally touch your baby inappropriately

• thoughts about hurting your baby, by suffocating them or throwing them down the stairs, for example

• thoughts of sexually abusing your child

  These thoughts can be very upsetting and frightening, but it's important to remember that having an intrusive thought doesn't mean that you'll act on it. It can be very hard to open up and talk to someone about these type of thoughts, but you are not alone, you are not the only person feeling these things, and you can get treatment and support.

  And find out more about getting treatment and support here.

  Read Victoria’s story about experiencing perinatal OCD