Everything You Need to Know About PMADs or Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders
What is a PMAD?
Well, PMAD or Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders is more inclusive language for “postpartum depression” in order to include Depressive Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, and Postpartum Stress Disorder. You are more at risk of having a PMAD after giving birth if you have a history of anxiety or other mood disorders, or if you have a family history of postpartum mood disorders.
Before we talk about the importance of PMADs, let’s talk about the prevalence of them and some statistics. Up to 80% of cases of PMADs go undiagnosed or untreated due to stigma, lack of awareness, and a shortage of resources and support. They are the number one complication associated with childbirth, but why does it feel so overwhelming and hard to navigate? Especially as the rates of people impacted by them has increased by 70% since the pandemic!
And maybe you’re thinking, “the odds of this impacting me or someone I love are slim”, but
13-21% of pregnant people are affected by perinatal anxiety
And 15-21% of pregnant and postpartum people experience PMADs
Why should we care about PMADs?
PMADs cause emotional and physical problems that can make it hard for new parents to function on a day-to-day basis. It can also greatly impact how the pregnant parent and baby bond and form attachment with one another. One of the major reasons as to why we care so much about PMADs and making sure that new parents get the care that they need is because untreated symptoms from a PMAD can become chronic and stay with a person for the rest of their life.
What are the signs of a PMAD? What is the difference compared to the “Baby Blues”?
Most new parents who underwent pregnancy will get the “Baby Blues”, 85% of them will experience this in some way. These hormonal changes after giving birth can cause restlessness or even anxiety. You may feel happy one minute and then overwhelmed and distraught the next. They often go away within the first two weeks after giving birth and are milder compared to the symptoms associated with PMADs.
Here are four things that might be a signal to let you know you should talk to your provider.
Feeling hopeless for most of the day – Not just a small wave of discouragement; this would be more debilitating and make it harder to do your daily tasks or care for yourself.
Not being able to enjoy pleasurable activities – as new parents time is not on your side with juggling a new baby, family, friends, your partner and maybe even a job! But when you do find time for yourself, for your hobbies or a day with your friends, do you find it impossible to enjoy it?
Feeling worthless or negative thoughts – Again there will be times with the little voice of shame/self-doubt speaks up louder than our self-compassion voice, but if it feels like you can’t turn down the volume on that at all then that’s a sign to seek out support.
Difficulties bonding with your baby – this might be from feeling depressed, this might be from anxiety or feeling overwhelmed by these new transitions. There is a lot of pressure around becoming a new parent and having to bond with your child, but if it feels like you can’t then there are resources out there to help.
So, what are some resources to help with a PMAD?
The number one thing would be to talk to your therapist, but if you don’t already have one talking to your OBGYN is a good place to start. They often have referral lists with therapists in your area that are trained to work with pregnant people.
Postpartum Support International has a helpline PSI HelpLine: 1 800-944-4773. They also have their own provider directory where you can search for a therapist in your area. They also have 50+ free online support groups for varying topics that you can find listed here.
If you are a partner or new dad wanting to find resources to support you and your transition to new parenthood you can check out those resources on PSI’s website here.
And for Queer and Trans parents who are worried about discrimination or stigma, PSI has more specified support groups to tailor to those concerns as well as a provider list. You can find all of those available resources here.
What would it look like to work with you?
Together we would create a an environment where you can slow down so you can have space to catch your breath and reconnect with yourself again. Through warmth and understand that is needed to create the type of safety necessary to promote lasting positive change, we can create a space where we can be compassionately curious about what is needed to reach your therapeutic goals. With breath-work, meditation, poly-vagal regulation, and reconnecting with your body, we can find new ways to communicate to your nervous system that you are safe in order to explore any challenges or struggles in your life with more ease. We can create a list of sustainable coping mechanisms and tools that you can use on a daily basis in order for you to not feel as overwhelmed by the weight of everything. If you are interested in doing some postpartum couples work, we could have a focus on new techniques of communication and look at what is and is not working in how you and your partner in order to create a plan that is attainable. And if need be, we can work together with other providers to find you the best medications to help you navigate some of these heavier challenges.
