Record number of mums suffering anxiety and depression
Perinatal anxiety and depression rates have significantly increased, with a new study finding a record number of mums are suffering during and after pregnancy. Experts say the rise is partly due to more conversation about mental health and treating the condition as early as possible is important.
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00:00 Traditionally we used to talk a lot about postnatal depression only, but by doing that
00:06 we missed the 1 in 10 women who actually begin developing depression during pregnancy and
00:11 of course then this increases to 1 in 7 in the postnatal period.
00:16 So by talking about it more collectively during pregnancy and postnatally, we're able to pick
00:21 up women early and make sure they get the help that they need before the baby arrives.
00:26 And just how severe can the effects be?
00:29 Look it can be very severe if these conditions are not identified or treated and this is
00:35 what leads to perinatal depression being amongst one of the leading causes of maternal death
00:41 is because these conditions aren't identified or treated early.
00:45 We know that up to 74% of women for example have said that they didn't get help until
00:50 they reached the point that they couldn't cope any longer.
00:53 And that's why it's so important that we do things like universal routine screening, just
00:58 like we do for diabetes and ultrasounds, we also must be assessing for mental health conditions
01:03 during pregnancy and postnatally as well.
01:06 And what is it that physiologically happens or not that triggers this?
01:12 Look every part of your life changes when you're having a baby, every part of yourself
01:16 changes.
01:17 Your biology, your hormones, your social life, your work life, your identity, so much is
01:24 changing at this life stage.
01:26 And it's this significant change that puts people at greater risk, particularly if you
01:30 have a history of mental health problems, if you don't have good support networks, if
01:34 you don't have good partner support or you're doing parenting alone.
01:38 These things all increase your risk and likelihood of developing a mental health condition and
01:43 again these are the things that screening will identify, not only the presence of mental
01:47 health problems but also whether you're at greater risk so you can put those supports
01:51 in place early.
01:53 And so what's the incidence in Australia and to what extent has it been increasing?
01:59 Look so we know that for depression alone, one in ten will experience depression during
02:03 pregnancy, this increases to one in seven new mothers.
02:07 We also know that partners are at risk, if the woman experiences anxiety or depression,
02:13 partners are also 50% more likely to develop depression themselves.
02:18 We also know factors like COVID which led to a lot of isolation and a lot of uncertainty,
02:23 a lot of insecurity around jobs and life and increases of domestic violence, all those
02:29 things increased depression and we're still seeing the after effects of that even now.
02:34 And to what extent has awareness of the condition grown and how much of a good thing has that
02:40 been?
02:41 Look, definitely awareness has grown, particularly around depression, less so around anxiety
02:45 which is also even more common affecting one in five women.
02:50 Certainly it is great that awareness is growing and in some ways people are talking more openly
02:54 about it but it's still important that we're doing the screening and by screening we're
03:00 normalising it that this is common, we need to identify it and talk about it.
03:05 If we're not putting things in place like screening it makes it a lot more difficult
03:08 for the woman to bring up the conversation or identify that she might not be coping and
03:12 what the specific signs are.
03:14 So screening is absolutely critical to facilitate that conversation and get these conditions
03:19 identified and help access.
03:22 And what are effective treatments?
03:24 So treatments vary, there's a range of treatments, so there's effective psychological or talking
03:28 therapies.
03:29 These are particularly helpful for people with mild to moderate depression.
03:33 Once someone experiences more moderate to severe illnesses, the National Guidelines
03:38 recommends SSRIs which is a type of antidepressant and importantly these can be safely used
03:44 in pregnancy and when breastfeeding.
03:47 So again having this knowledge about effective treatments and access to this as part of screening
03:52 and care is essential for parents and for health professionals.
03:57 And Nicole, why did you choose this as a field to specialise in and how satisfying has it
04:03 been trying to improve the awareness and the treatment?
04:08 Oh look, it's been my life's work.
04:10 I've found it enormously satisfying.
04:13 You know I've always been dedicated to women's mental health and just that the unique challenges
04:19 that the perinatal period brings, there's so much opportunity to intervene early and
04:25 to also it's a very exciting time with new digital technologies.
04:31 This part of the community is really embracing technology so that's why we have fantastic
04:35 apps like the Ready to Cope app and digital screening to really empower the consumer with
04:41 information that they never had access to before.
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