With the study conducted by Kocaeli University (KOU) Faculty of Medicine, Department of Mental Health and Diseases, pregnant women are helped to overcome their experiences with psychotherapy management and the negative effects on fetal development are prevented.
9 months ago, the Consultation Liaison Psychiatry (CLP) Unit, in collaboration with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, started a study to treat depression, the symptoms of which are similar to those seen during pregnancy, such as fatigue, sleep problems, anxiety and worry.
Psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal relationship therapy are used to treat depression, which, if left untreated, has the same negative impact on fetal development as drug use.
KOÜ Faculty of Medicine, Head of the Department of Mental Health and Diseases, Prof. Dr. Aslıhan Polat said that women's mental health, which they prioritize, has come to the fore with the changing lifestyle in the world after the pandemic.
Emphasizing that pregnancy is one of the most important periods in a woman's life, Polat explained that 10 percent of all pregnant women have to live with depression during this period.
Polat, pointing out that the diagnosis during pregnancy should be made correctly, said, "The most important thing about pregnant women is that we need to consider not only the health of the mother but also the health of the baby. Here, we work with both the mother and the developing fetus baby. It is certainly true that using medication during pregnancy is not very correct. Medications used during pregnancy definitely pass on to the baby and can cause harm, but depression itself can harm the development of the fetus at least as much as the medications, or even more than many medications. It can cause both developmental delay, premature birth and low birth weight."
Polat, who argued that pregnant women choose to endure their depression so that the medication does not pass to the fetus, added that this is a misconception and that untreated depression negatively affects the development of the baby in the womb and that they want to raise awareness about this.
"IT ALSO NEGATIVELY AFFECTS THE BONDING BETWEEN MOTHER AND BABY"
KLP Unit Manager Prof. Dr. Elif Tatlıdil explained that pregnancy depression is quite common, but can be overlooked because it is confused with the effects of pregnancy, and that physical difficulties, fatigue, lack of desire, and nausea experienced during this period can sometimes overlap with symptoms of depression.
Tatlıdil stated that in a state of depression, the care a person shows for himself decreases, his sleep pattern is disrupted, his self-confidence decreases at home and at work, and he has a pessimistic outlook on life.
Noting that they try to think of drug treatments in the background as much as possible due to the nature of pregnancy, Tatlıdil continued as follows: "We try to avoid giving medication especially in the first 3 months of pregnancy. Our priority here is to protect the health of the mother. We continue with psychotherapy with frequent follow-ups. Based on cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal relationship therapy, we continue the first 3 months and then the pregnancy with frequent meetings, often weekly meetings. Especially starting from the second 3 months, when we have to use drug treatments, we can use them if the health condition of our pregnant woman requires it, but of course we prefer the appropriate drugs. Our priority is psychotherapy, if necessary, we add drug treatment."
Tatlıdil, who mentioned that pregnancy depression also greatly affects the postpartum period, said, "Untreated depression during pregnancy increases the possibility of postpartum depression. More importantly, another effect that is not well known is that it can cause premature birth and low birth weight in the baby. If there is untreated depression during pregnancy after birth, it also negatively affects the bond between the mother and the baby. When depression resolves during pregnancy, both the physical life of the mother and the baby, and the psychological and emotional life of the mother and the baby, which will spread to the postpartum period, undergo significant positive changes."
Source : https://www.haberturk.com