What are Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMAD)?
What are Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMAD)?
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMAD) are a set of disorders that can occur anytime during pregnancy and the first year postpartum. PMAD includes Depression, Anxiety, Panic, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Postpartum Psychosis.
Right now, it is estimated that 10% to 20% of reproductive people will develop a PMAD. If you are a person of color, it’s probably double.
Over 800,000 cases are reported in the U.S. each year, making PMAD the most common maternal health complication.
Symptoms can include:
- Frequent crying
- Sleep and appetite changes
- Feelings of loneliness, sadness, helplessness
- Frequent mood swings
- Repetitive, sometimes scary thoughts that won’t go away
- Anger, frustration, irritability
- Difficulty bonding with your baby
- Anxiety, panic, excessive worry
- Feelings of being trapped
- Fear of being left alone with your baby
- Sense of doom
- Lack of interest in life, feeling sluggish, fatigued, exhausted
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Feeling restless or wired
- Thoughts of hurting yourself or those around you