Depression: risks and dangers for pregnant women

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Extract from the article: Women are more vulnerable to depression during pregnancy. During these periods, depression can be confused with pregnancy symptoms. According to Grâce Koumayi, midwife and founder of the NGO « Faire Autrement », this emotional disorder can have an im

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Women are more vulnerable to depression during pregnancy. During these periods, depression can be confused with pregnancy symptoms. According to Grâce Koumayi, midwife and founder of the NGO « Faire Autrement », this emotional disorder can have an impact on the pregnant woman's perception of the world around her. It can also have major repercussions on future children if it is not quickly brought under control. 

Left untreated, depressed pregnant women tend to receive less prenatal care, eat less well and get less rest. This maternal depression has negative effects on fetal development and the birthing process. « Depression can cause premature delivery. Depression can also cause abortions, it can be a voluntary abortion. When you're depressed, there's a lack of interest in everything, especially pregnancy, and this lack of interest can lead the woman to get rid of the pregnancy, hence the elective abortion. Depression can cause the pregnancy to leak, which we call spontaneous abortion », explained midwife Grâce Koumayi.

If left untreated during pregnancy, depression can lead to postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is a serious illness that can last for months after childbirth, affecting the mother's bond with her baby.Pregnant women can also experience high levels of anxiety and depression without developing an anxiety disorder. For the specialist, it's necessary for a woman to learn how to manage the symptoms of her anxiety state during pregnancy.These can, on the one hand, increase the risk of premature delivery, congenital malformations and cause emotional and behavioral problems in the child on the other. « Depression can also cause low birth weight.The child will be full-term but will weigh less than 2kg 500 grams.It can also cause blood pressure, I'm not talking about pre-eclampsia, but this depression can give headaches to the point of exposing the woman to blood pressure.So you have a pregnancy with blood pressure »,  she says.

Symptoms are likely to worsen after childbirth, and may be associated with anxiety symptoms.A pregnant woman with a depressive disorder is also more vulnerable to mental health problems during and after pregnancy.

Elom AKAKPO