The Effect Pregnancy Has On Mental Health
Cassandra, the main character in The Rock Star’s Wife series, makes no secret that she detests pregnancy. While many women enjoy their changing bodies, Cassie’s experience is very common. A number of women struggle with their self-image during pregnancy and some struggle for the first time with mental illness. Let’s examine the effect pregnancy has on mental health.
Maintaining a Healthy Self-Image
“Research suggests that more than half of pregnant women feel dissatisfied with their body image during pregnancy,” Baby Center says. “Our society is fixated on appearance, and the pressure to look cute doesn’t let up during pregnancy.”
While pregnant with Megan, Cassie had difficulty accepting her growing belly. She feared her body wouldn’t return to normal. She also disliked how people looked differently at her, and how strangers felt entitled to rub her baby bump.
“Pregnancy is rarely the happy, glowing time that is advertised,” Dr. Marley Doyle, a reproductive psychiatry expert, says. “Many women struggle with self-image during this time. Many changes occur to your body, and it is frustrating when others feel like they have the right to comment about these changes. Trust that your body is doing what it needs to do and remind yourself that pregnancy is temporary.”
Exercise, meditation, new clothing, self-pampering, and getting enough sleep can all help with self-image. So can sex and physical intimacy with your partner.
Pregnancy and Mental Illness
The myth is that pregnant women are glowing and happy. In truth, up to 20 percent of women experience mood or anxiety disorders during their pregnancies or postpartum.
As many as 10 percent of women experience major depression. Major depression is defined as depression that lasts all day, nearly every day, for two weeks or longer. It might include a loss of interest or pleasure in beloved activities, or the depression can manifest with this symptom alone. Left untreated, it can result in premature labor, low birth rate, suicide and other negative outcomes.
As many as 10 percent of women experience anxiety disorders during their pregnancies. These disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and panic disorder, and can be worsened by pregnancy or can develop for the first time.
Some women experience both depression and anxiety concurrently. Unplanned pregnancies, like Cassie’s, can be a trigger but so can a personal or family history of depression or anxiety as well as a multitude of emotional, environmental and physical factors.
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Were you surprised by the effect pregnancy has on mental health? Leave a comment below. Comments close after 90 days.
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Here’s the 4-1-1
This blog is a companion piece to The Rock Star’s Wife, a series about sex, family, and rock & roll. The series has elements of chick lit, romance and erotica and is best compared to The Vagina Monologues for its frank talk of sex and its consequences. The series follows Cassandra from her teenage years into her 40s as she navigates relationships (both romantic and platonic) — all with music playing a prominent roll.
Book four, Rock Star Mom, debuts August 2024: She fell in love with a rock star. Now comes the hard part.
Cassandra needs your help getting her story out. Join the street team to help.
Melina Druga
Melina Druga is a multi-genre author with a lifelong love of music, books and writing. She is the author of the Rock Star's Wife series, six historical fiction novels and nine nonfiction books. Based in the Midwest, Druga lives with her husband, daughter, black cat and CD collection.
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