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Home › Articles › Conditions Affecting Conception and Pregnancy › From Mood Swings to Baby Swings

From Mood Swings to Baby Swings

Clinical Depression and Conception

By Carma Haley Shoemaker

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Heather Edwards of St. Paul, Minn., was keeping her depression under control with medication when she conceived her second daughter, Grace. "If it hadn't been for the meds, I honestly don't know if I would have been able to cope with the first months of pregnancy," she says. "I have done one pregnancy without meds and two with meds. I had less mood swings and crying while on meds. For depressed women on medication, I would suggest that they stay on them... if their doctor says it's safe. For me, it made for an easier pregnancy and significantly less postpartum depression."

Expect Anything
Fairly common knowledge, and verified by the AAP, is the fact that hormones can fluctuate quite intensely during times of depression, menstrual cycles and pregnancy. Due to the amount of hormone fluctuation various women can experience, it is difficult to know how each woman will respond, says Douglas.

"It's hard to predict how the hormonal changes of pregnancy will impact depression," she says. "Some recent studies have demonstrated that prenatal depression is even more common that postpartum depression. omen with a history of depression need to prepare themselves for the possibility that hormones could cause a struggle with depression during pregnancy. Fortunately, this is not the case for the vast number of women with a history of depression, but it's important nonetheless to prepare for the fact that this may occur."


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