Diagnosis.
That’s a big word full of lots of stereotypes. Sometimes we see this word as a scary label – we are now “diagnosed” with a disorder. Other times, it can help us feel a sense of understand and belonging – we can now find resources for our “diagnosis” and be able to better understand what we are going through.
When diagnosing a maternal mental illness, there is a wide range of different diagnoses that moms can have. The main diagnoses are:
I recently asked Miranda Layton, local maternal mental health therapist, to write a little bit about diagnoses. I think this is a topic that we could talk about all day, but check out what she wrote – and remember, you are not alone!
Maternal Mental Heatlh Diagnoses
By Miranda Layton
When you hear about maternal mental health diagnoses, people tend to think of the worst-case scenarios and the stories we see and hear in the media. What most people do not know is that there are different maternal mental health diagnoses that each carry their own set of symptoms and treatments. The statistics related to maternal mental health are staggering and given the high rate of some of the statistics, it is astonishing that maternal mental health is not more of a focus.
Just to give you an idea of what some of these statistics look like:
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1 in 5 moms and 1 in 10 dads suffer from Postpartum Depression
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9% of women experience Postpartum Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after childbirth
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Postpartum Psychosis occurs in 1 to 2 of 1,000 births
More statistics and information can be found at Postpartum Support International.
Also, maternal mental health diagnoses encompass the pregnancy and postpartum up to a year!
During pregnancy and the postpartum period it is extremely important to take care of yourself physically and emotionally. Part of taking care of yourself is utilizing your support system, medical professionals and therapist to discuss how you are feeling emotionally as well as physically.
Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders are oftentimes temporary and can be easily managed with therapy, self-care, movement, well-balanced diet and sometimes medication. Talking with loved ones and a therapist during this time will be extremely important to feel supported and validated as suffering from a maternal mental health disorder can feel isolating.
An important thing to remember is that you are not alone! There are so many local and national resources to support mothers. In fact, peer support groups can be an amazing resource for mothers to find the support and validation needed during this challenging time.
Don’t think twice if you are considering reaching out to us for support. We are here for you, mama.