Pregnancy & Birth 

Getting pregnant, being pregnant and giving birth are supposedly ordinary parts of our lifecycle, but this does not mean that they are straightforward or easy by any means. The transitions are monumental and can disrupt our identities and relationships in ways that are difficult to predict. Pregnancy is often a time of heightened and mixed emotions, and it’s not at all unusual to experience some anxiety, uncertainty or low mood in the antenatal period. It can be hard to talk to family and friends about this because if you think that people expect you to be happy and excited rather than anxious or sad, and many women describe feeling ashamed of their uncomfortable thoughts and emotions.  

Thinking about giving birth can be very anxiety-provoking whether it’s for the first time or if you’ve been here before. Sometimes this fear of birth is so severe that it leads people to delay or avoid getting pregnant at all. This fear, which psychologists call primary tokophobia, is more common than you might think and I work with lots of women to help them feel more confident in their choices or to prepare for pregnancy birth in a more positive way.  

Many expectant parents worry about how they will cope when their baby is born - whether they will be good parents, how they will manage financially, what will happen to their relationships with their partner and friends or to their work. Worries about the baby are also very common, as are fears about giving birth and breastfeeding.  

Pregnancy can be a period of increased likelihood of a relapse of a previous mental health problem, but women can also experience symptoms for the first time during pregnancy. Sometimes there’s a clear trigger for feeling of anxiety or low mood, such as pregnancy-related complications like hyperemesis gravidarum, or a worrying scan result, for example. Other times, the trigger seems less clear and it might just feel like anxiety or low mood ‘creeps up’ without warning. I want you to know that ambivalence about pregnancy and parenting is 100% normal, and that symptoms of anxiety and depression are common and they certainly do not define what kind of parent you will be. They can also respond very well to psychological therapy so you do not have to struggle alone.