Emotions and Changes in Pregnancy

Emma Reyes-Ramirez: Taking care of your mental health during and after pregnancy is extremely important. Your body goes through many changes, but so does your life. Michelle Gebhardt, MD: Everyone's pregnancy looks really different. People may have mixed emotions about being pregnant or parenting. Sometimes this can be because this is an unplanned pregnancy. You may have suffered from infertility or a prior loss. Kara King, MD: First of all, you're dealing with so many changes, the nausea in the first part of your pregnancy, the weight gain or the changes of your body that you may not be expecting during the second and third trimester. Many pregnant women enjoy this change, but some it may be a little, a little nerve wracking. Olivia: At first when I found out I was pregnant, I was super happy. After all the happiness settled, the anxiety set in with, oh my gosh, I'm going to get bigger. And that was a huge fear I had. Emma Reyes-Ramirez: To have this push-and-pull feeling between what we're supposed to feel, which is what society sometimes tells us. We're supposed to be really happy and overjoyed. Also it can be really common to have some feelings of unease or feeling like where we question ourselves. You know? Am I doing the right thing? Am I going to be a good parent? Bree: I was more anxious and more scared that something was going to happen. I started crying out of nowhere and my husband didn't know, I said we're never going to be the same! We're never going to have one-on-one time!We're never going to go out together! And I just broke down. Michelle Gebhardt, MD: Pregnancy and postpartum can often be the first time that people have mental health symptoms. We ask you to fill out a questionnaire during pregnancy and postpartum to see if you're having any symptoms. We actually ask multiple times because we want to see if these symptoms are getting better or getting worse. Signs that something more serious could be going on are feeling sad and tearful, having difficulty sleeping, having difficulty getting out of the house, or having anxiety and intrusive thoughts that can be very scary or distressing. If you're experiencing these symptoms more days than not and if they're intense and lasting, please reach out to us, because we can help. Olivia: You are not alone and it's okay to feel all the feelings that you are feeling. You can get the help. It's there and you shouldn't be scared to ask for it. Kara King, MD: I think in the age of social media and just wanting to feel like you have everything under control, you can feel like youhave to appear as if everything is in line. All your ducks in a row. No one's life is perfect. No one's pregnancy is perfect. So just make sure that you understand that you are important, that you don't have to live up to anyone else's expectations and that your pregnancy and after pregnancy is all your own.