Having a baby is a big life event, and it’s natural to experience a range of emotions and reactions during and after your pregnancy. But if they start to have an impact on how you live your life, you might be experiencing a mental health problem. One of the reasons Midwives, Health Visitors and GPs ask you about our emotional health is this can be a new problem (women have never had any problems like this before). For others is may be another episode of a mental health problem you’ve experienced before. These are known as perinatal mental health problems.

Around one in five women (20%) will experience a mental health problem during pregnancy or in the year after giving birth. These vary hugely and for many women they are mild to moderate symptoms that can be helped by further support. For smaller group of women they are more severe and need more specialist help.

It can be really difficult to work out what you are feeling and if it is part of normal adjustment or something more. It can also to feel difficult able to talk openly about how you’re feeling when you become a new parent. You might feel pressure to be happy and excited, like you have to be on top of everything and worried you’re a bad parent if you’re struggling.

The most common mental health problems that women in the perinatal period experience are depression and anxiety, or a mix of both. However, sometimes it is not easy to categorise and the most important thing if for women who are feeling distress to seek help. Their situation can then be talked through , supported and if needed treatment in place.