9 month blues

Three months into a pregnancy, 28-year-old Rasna Kohli hit a low patch. She was listless and withdrawn and her family found it inexplicable. 8220;I was expected to look happy even when I wasn8217;t feeling it. My gynaecologist said it was normal but my in-laws just didn8217;t understand my mood swings. There were fights with my husband and I just kept getting more anxious,8221; she says.
Kohli is not alone. Studies show that one out of every 10 women suffers from depression of some kind during pregnancy. Not many receive the proper treatment. 8220;From irritability to obsessive compulsive disorder to sadness and anxiety, some women tend to get depressed during the time they are expected to be most joyous,8221; says Dr Geeta Chadha, gynaecologist, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. Depression, she says, usually starts after three months of pregnancy and lasts till about two months after giving birth. 8220;About 30 per cent of the pregnant women who come to me are depressed at one point or the other during their pregnancy,8221; she says.

The reasons for depression may vary from hormonal shifts to stress and anxiety. Women who lead stressful lives, have a family history of depression or other related disorders, a complicated or high risk pregnancy or have experienced a loss during pregnancy previously are most likely to suffer from depression. When 27-year-old Simrin Nath got pregnant for the first, she had an accident and miscarried the baby. Two years later, she got pregnant again. 8220;I felt completely out of control. I would try not to get out of bed because I didn8217;t want to put my baby in any sort of danger this time. Every time I went to the doctor for a routine check-up, I would feel scared of climbing down the stairs and would keep imagining how it would be if I fell down,8221; she says. She went to the doctor and found that she suffered from an emotional obsessive-compulsive disorder and paranoia.

Body changes that accompany pregnancy also trigger depression. 8220;I had always been very fit but after getting pregnant I kept getting fatter and felt that I could never get my previous body back after giving birth,8221; says 32-year-old Kanika Kapoor. The responsibility of parenting also weighs women down. 8220;I once had a patient who decided to terminate pregnancy because she thought she wouldn8217;t make a good mother,8221; says Dr Chadha.

But if the mother-to-be is down in the dumps, it8217;s important for the family to support her. 8220;While sometimes hormonal shifts during pregnancy are to be blamed for anxiety during pregnancy, some women complain that it gets worse because of their spouse8217;s or in-law8217;s expectations that they be happy and glowing,8221; says Dr Monica Chib, psychiatrist, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.

There are several ways in which you can deal with the depression. 8220;It is important that they get plenty of rest when pregnant. Eating well and light exercise with the advice of your doctor can also help bring the stress levels down,8221; says Dr Lalita Badhwar, gynaecologist, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. But if the problem is serious and persistent, go to a counsellor.