Pregnancy and the postpartum period bring incredible change, and it’s normal to experience a wide range of emotions. This page offers information on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, postpartum mental health conditions, and supportive resources for addiction or substance use during pregnancy.
You are not alone—help and guidance are available, and reaching out is a strong and important step toward your well-being.
Perinatal mood, anxiety, and related disorders (PMADs)
PMAD is a medical condition that requires professional assessment and treatment, so you should contact your healthcare provider for support. Treatment regimens can include counselling, medications, and cognitive behavioural therapy, etc. Any decisions regarding treatment options must include a discussion of harms and benefits. This is especially important if you are currently pregnant or breastfeeding.
Perinatal mental health: Emotional health and well-being from conception, through pregnancy, and the first year after childbirth. Pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood can be times of great changes and increased stress. A new parent’s mood may change quickly, from happiness and excitement to feeling sad and overwhelmed.
Postpartum Depression
About 40-80% of people experience the “baby blues” shortly after childbirth. Symptoms can include: mood swings, sadness, crying more easily, anxiety, trouble with concentration, and difficulty sleeping. These symptoms are mild and usually disappear on their own within two to four weeks without the need of any treatment.
Your healthcare provider can help you to determine whether you are experiencing “baby blues” or a PMAD, and make a plan to monitor and watch for possible worsening symptoms. If the baby blues last longer than a few weeks or are accompanied by thoughts about harming yourself or your baby, you may have a perinatal or postpartum mood or anxiety disorder. This happens to about 20% of birthing individuals and is also common among parenting partners. It is not anyone’s fault, and it’s important to seek help early.
Postpartum Anxiety
There are different types of anxiety, including excessive worrying, intense physical symptoms of anxiety (for example, tense muscles, trouble breathing, and/or racing heartbeat) or panic attacks, or anxiety about specific situations.
Sometimes people can have symptoms of both anxiety and depression, and anxiety might be even more common than depression in pregnancy and postpartum.
Postpartum Psychosis
Postpartum psychosis is a severe and high risk PMAD. If you are experiencing symptoms of postpartum psychosis such as confusion, feeling out of touch with reality, hearing or seeing things that aren’t there, or having intense feelings of wanting to harm yourself or your baby, seek help immediately.
Call your healthcare provider, go to the nearest emergency department, or dial 911; Suicide Crisis Helpline at 9-8-8 (by phone or text) or visit 988.ca in Canada.
This is a mental health emergency. You should not be alone with your baby.
Addiction and Substance Use While Pregnant and Breastfeeding
If you are pregnant and using tobacco, vaping products, alcohol, cannabis and/or other recreational drugs, they can pass through your placenta to your growing baby.
Exposure to even a tiny amount of any illicit drugs, such as ecstasy, methamphetamines, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl, can make your baby very sick and even cause death. Exposure can happen in different ways such as:
- breathing in second-hand smoke or vapour from drugs
- being exposed through breastfeeding or breastmilk
- transferring from clothing, hands, or skin to a baby or child’s body, toys, soothers, bottles, and other items
- during diaper changes
- accidentally eating or touching drugs
Opioid Use disorder
During pregnancy has been linked with serious negative health outcomes such as preterm birth, stillbirth, maternal mortality, and neonatal abstinence syndrome. If you’re pregnant or trying to become pregnant, talk to your healthcare provider before starting or stopping your opioids prescription or opioid use disorder medications.
Marijuana Use
Marijuana use during pregnancy can lead to increased use of other substances that may impact pregnancy and baby’s health. If you use cannabis when you’re pregnant, your baby is more likely to have a low birth weight, problems with sleep and self-soothing, problems with their brain, slower growth, and problems with learning and behaviour.
There is no safe amount or type of cannabis to use while breastfeeding. If you’re using cannabis for medical reasons, talk with your health provider about finding a safer alternative. Using cannabis while breastfeeding can affect your baby’s brain and could cause learning and behavioural issues that last throughout their life.
Smoking Tobacco
Smoking tobacco during pregnancy increases the risk of health problems for developing babies such as preterm birth, low birth weight, and birth defects of the mouth and lip. Smoking during and after pregnancy also increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Nicotine is harmful for pregnant women and can damage a developing baby’s brain and lungs.
Alcohol
All types of alcohol are equally harmful and are not safe to be consumed during pregnancy. Drinking alcohol while being pregnant can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) in the baby, a group of serious irreversible conditions. It’s safest not to drink any type of alcohol when you’re breastfeeding. Alcohol passes into your breastmilk and then to your baby. The level of alcohol in your breastmilk is the same as the level in your blood.
Drinking alcohol can also cause your body to make less milk. If you choose to drink alcohol once in a while, breastfeed before you drink and don’t have more than 1 standard drink. After drinking, wait 2 to 3 hours before you breastfeed again. If your breasts get uncomfortable before the 2 to 3 hours are up, express your milk with a pump or by hand, and dispose of it. Don’t save this breastmilk or give it to your baby.
Resources
Bringing a new baby home can be joyful, overwhelming, and everything in between. The resources below offer support for mental health, coping strategies, and guidance for parents navigating the challenges of the perinatal and postpartum period.