Feelings, emotions and mental wellbeing during pregnancy
You may feel a little out of control, your body is changing, you are being bombarded with advice about what to do and not to do, you may have to visit health centres & hospitals alone, making decisions about tests & scans, your partner, family and friends may be anxious and treat you differently. All these things can make you question how you are coping emotionally, physically and practically and how you will cope with a new baby.
These changes of emotions are normal. It is good to talk to your family, friends, midwife, health visitor or GP about these. Please click below if you would like to develop a wellbeing plan – it is a tool which helps you start thinking about how you feel and what support you might need in your pregnancy and after the birth. You can use it to help you talk to your partner, family, friends or midwife about how you are feeling:
Create a wellbeing and support plan
You can find general tips on maintaining mental wellbeing during pregnancy linked in the resources at the end of this page.
If you are having anxiety or low mood that is persistent, significant, and it is having an impact on the quality of your life don’t be afraid to tell your midwife, health visitor or GP how you’re feeling. They can help you to consider what support you may need with your emotional and mental health. By letting them know they can then help ensure you get the support you need.
Some parents/carers worry about telling healthcare professionals how they’re feeling because they fear they’ll be judged as a parent/carer, or their child will be taken away from their care. Health care professionals work really hard to get parents/carers well and to keep babies/children with their parents/carers.
We want to ensure that all parents have the support they need, so that they can feel physically and mentally well, and can get off to the best start in their relationship with their baby.
During pregnancy, do not stop or change your medication without specialist advice from a GP or psychiatrist.
If you are concerned about the mental health of somebody else (whether that be the father of the child or your partner or family member or friend) there is also advice and support available.
There are a number of websites, helplines and apps available to support mental wellbeing during pregnancy and afterwards. For further details including self-help tips please visit the Resources and Links page below.
