Written By: Satata Karmakar | Published : January 22, 2021 11:33 AM IST
Early diagnosis of mental disorders during pregnancy is now possible!
In a first, researchers have identified a screening tool that may help diagnose depressive symptoms and other mental disorders in early pregnancy.
The study, published in the journal Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, indicates that questions typically asked new mothers to screen for depression after giving birth can also help to detect mental disorders during early pregnancy.
Speaking to the media, the researchers noted that, "The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale seems to be a valuable screening tool to detect depressive symptoms as well as other mental disorders during early pregnancy".
For the study, the team analysed 2,271 women with questions that are part of what's called the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.
The team found that 85 per cent of women with a score of 13 or higher had one or more mental disorders or risk factors for mental disorders during early pregnancy.
In total, 149 (6.6 per cent) women were found to be screen-positive. The majority (126, 85 per cent) had at least one mental disorder or risk factor for mental disorder, such as depression (36.0 per cent), anxiety (14.8 per cent), or severe fear of childbirth (20.8 per cent).
The screen-positive women were more often smokers (16.1 per cent vs 1.3 per cent), unemployed (19.9 per cent vs 1.3 per cent), or on sick leave (25.3 per cent vs 14.1 per cent) during pregnancy and more often used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor during pregnancy (14.2 per cent vs 2.7 per cent) compared with the screen-negative women.
Among the screen-negative women only three (2 per cent) presented with symptoms of depression during pregnancy.
Taking good care of your mental health is always very important, however, it becomes a necessity when you are pregnant. Pregnancy brings along a number of mood swings, mixed feelings - sometimes good and sometimes bad!
Mood swings are extremely common during your pregnancy. But, nothing is good when it becomes 'too much' right? If you are pregnant and are suffering from deep nervousness and stress all the time then, you must reconsider taking care of your mental health. Stress during pregnancy can be harmful to your own health and for your baby's health as well.
Other than depression or anxiety, a pregnant woman may also suffer from a bipolar disorder where the person can go through several episodes of depression - loss of energy or high-energy mania.
Panic attacks are also another type of mental health issue that can be harmful to you.
As discussed above, mental health problems are very normal during the time when you are pregnant. There is no reason to not talk about it or to find a cure to help your inner self. Here are some of the top tips that you can consider following:
Our lives these days are extremely busy. There is no time for anyone to look into the mirror and talk to the inner self. But, do you know how important is it to just sit for a while and calm your inner self down? Sit back for a while when you are feeling anxious or stressed. Take a deep breath. You will see the change.
Eating well means incorporating the right amount of nutrients into your diet on a daily basis. Eating well never means eating less but one should always make sure to eat right.
Loving yourself is the biggest tool to fight off depression. Take out time for yourself and do something that you love to do - play some good music, sip into a cup of herbal tea, apply a calming face sheet mask and spend time with yourself.
