Relieve Antepartum Depression with a Safe Treatment Called Light Therapy

Pregnancy can be a time of happiness as most women look forward to the birth of a new baby. It can also become a time when many different emotions can appear and cause depression. You may suddenly and unexpectedly feel anxious, stressed or occasionally feel trapped. It may be difficult to understand these feelings especially if you go back and forth from joy to sadness or if you were looking forward to being pregnant. It the pregnancy was unplanned, you have a previous history of depression or you get really sick with nausea then emotions are more expected to get out of control.

At times negative emotions, anxiety and depression can become so overwhelming that you may not want to bother with anyone including your partner. The opposite may also occur if you feel you're not receiving enough emotional support which may induce loneliness and trigger depression. Stressful events such as abuse, moving and changing jobs may be other culprits for feeling sad or depressed. Hormones and other bodily functions will naturally change and also cause emotional and physical effects. High levels of stress hormones such as cortisol can also contribute to depressed moods and endanger the baby. Also, hormones released throughout pregnancy can deplete serotonin levels which can lower moods. Treatments that bring the serotonin levels up will usually help lift depression.

You should try to seek treatment no matter what the cause of your antepartum depression or depression during pregnancy. There are research studies that reveal depression while you're pregnant is a reason for later occurrence of postpartum depression. Other research states that depression and anxiety can affect the developing fetus. The weight of the baby may also be affected.