What are perinatal issues?
Perinatal difficulties refer to prominent difficulties with pregnancies, in particular during the gestational period. Some difficulties can include having a miscarriage, experiencing termination, neonatal loss, infertility loss, and postpartum depression. Enduring perinatal difficulties elicits a range of reactions. Often, coping with these difficulties alone is overwhelming and can trigger mental health problems including anxiety and depression.
What are the symptoms of perinatal issues?
Psychological symptoms include:
- Feelings of fear, guilt, and irritability
- Feelings of extreme sadness, depression, and anxiety
- Extreme mood swings
Behavioural symptoms include:
- Low libido (sex drive)
- Substance abuse
- Social withdrawal
Physical symptoms include:
- Atypical sleeping patterns
- Body aches and pain
- Hormonal changes
How to cope with perinatal issues:
Experiencing perinatal and postnatal complications is undoubtedly overwhelming which impacts the psyche. To help manage and cope with these complications, talk therapy has been proposed as a suitable intervention.
Talk therapy is a broad concept which encompasses multiple approaches. However, the fundamental objective is to provide you with a safe space to discuss your thoughts, feelings, and emotions in an empathetic and accepting environment. More specifically, the advocated interventions include fertility counselling, coaching, DBT and CBT. These interventions work in a one-to-one environment to tailor a suitable plan catered to your individual needs. Although these therapies focus on your individual needs, where there are more parties involved, and you feel that you want your partner or family to understand you and partake this journey with you, you can also attend family co-therapy/ couples counselling