New Motherhood Can Bring Anxiety, Depression

Being a new mother can be exciting as well as frightening. The emotional and physical changes that come with being a first-time mom can be a lot to handle. There can also be significant effects on new fathers who are

For some women who have given birth, issues with anxiety and/or depression may arise. This can make it more difficult to care for a newborn and to care for oneself. New mothers must learn to balance their sleeping habits and adjust their eating habits after experiencing great physical change in a relatively short amount of time.

It is important that new moms (and their loved ones) are aware of the unique challenges that they will face after giving birth. While some people have heard of postpartum depression, a form of depression that occurs in some women after they have had a child, the risk of developing anxiety is less well-known.

A study from the Journal of Affective Disorders and conducted in Australia describes how anxiety affects new parents. It turns out that many fathers of newborns feel anxiety– nearly twenty percent. The study also shows that anxiety may actually be more prevalent than depression in women who have recently given birth. The study cites anxiety as affecting about thirty-three percent of first-time mothers.

If you are interested in finding out more about anxiety and depression in new parents, you can read more about the topic and the study mentioned above at the link found here:

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-10-birth-baby-trigger-anxiety.html

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