How do you know if you have postnatal anxiety? Signs and symptoms

You know some mothers suffer from postnatal depression but have you also wondered whether you might be experiencing postnatal anxiety?

Various studies show that at least 1 in 10 mums develop an anxiety disorder in the first year after birth, and this can perhaps be as many as 4 in 10. Learn about postnatal anxiety symptoms, what’s normal and when to get help.

When postnatal anxiety is helpful, and when it’s not

Some anxiety, stress and nerves are normal. After all, when you bring home a newborn, you’re on a huge learning curve. It’s a big job adapting all aspects of your life.

Anxiety can be a good thing when learning to care for a new person–it keeps your little one safe. For example, a little healthy anxiety helps make sure you clip them safely into their car seat, keep them out of direct sunlight and take them for their check-ups.

So how do you know when you have postnatal anxiety rather than everyday stress? Postnatal anxiety becomes a problem when it’s no longer helpful but instead gets in the way of daily functioning.

It could impact on:

• your willingness to go out and socialise
• the quality of your relationship with your partner (if you have one)
• your ability to work
• how well you bond with bub.

Postnatal anxiety also becomes a problem when anxious and worried thoughts and feelings are ongoing and hard to endure.

Postnatal anxiety symptoms

For some parents, postnatal anxiety means worrying more about their health and leaving their kids without a mother. For others, it’s the fear of accidentally hurting their baby. Meanwhile, some are too worried to go out because they feel everyone judges them and their parenting skills.

Common postnatal anxiety symptoms include:

• stress and worry
• muscle tension
• trouble sleeping
• irritability and restlessness
• persistent worrying thoughts (that you’re doing something wrong, or something terrible will happen)
• avoidance of situations because of anxiety
• racing heart rate.

Different types of anxiety

Anxiety is not a single condition – there are several different types of anxiety disorders with various causes and treatments. These can be postnatal anxiety if they start in the first year after birth.

These types of anxiety disorders include:

• generalised anxiety – feeling anxious most days
• panic attacks – becoming overwhelmed by stress with physical symptoms like trouble breathing and feeling dizzy
• agoraphobia – fear of unfamiliar or particular places
• social phobia – fear someone will embarrass or criticise them in public
• obsessive-compulsive disorder – recurring thoughts that drive repetitive behaviours
• post-traumatic stress disorder.

It’s also common to have depression at the same time as anxiety. As a result, you might experience depression symptoms along with anxiety symptoms, which can include losing interest in things that used to be fun, sleeping too much, feeling constantly sad or numb, and wanting to eat a lot more or less than usual.

Why do I have postnatal anxiety?

There is no single cause for postnatal anxiety symptoms. Instead, there are a lot of factors that influence your mental health after birth.

Having one of the risk factors doesn’t mean you will develop postnatal anxiety. And on the flip side of that, not having any of the risk factors doesn’t mean you won’t.

However, these are some issues that are more common in women who have anxiety in the year after birth:

• having previous experience of mental illness (like depression, eating disorders or a personality disorder) – or having low self-esteem
• being a younger mum, single mum, or having financial stress
• not having enough reliable support from friends and family
• going through difficulty conceiving
• having a family history of anxiety
• experiencing a stressful event – like moving house, losing a job, or problems with the birth or baby’s health.

When can postnatal anxiety start, and when can it go away?

It seems that anxiety in new mums tends to be at its highest at the beginning of motherhood. However, it then slowly improves over the first year, which makes sense, as having a new baby is a vulnerable and stressful time.

If you have any concerns at all about the stress and worry you’re experiencing, don’t wait for it to get better by itself. Instead, talk to a professional and seek treatment. You may then immediately start feeling better and reduce the impact of anxiety on you and your family.

Who to talk to

Get in touch with your GP, midwife or maternal and child health nurse.

You can also call the PANDA helpline on 1300 726 306 (Mon to Fri) or Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7).

Reference List

PBB aims to keep you informed with the latest research-based information. Check out our reference list used in the creation of this article.

Published on 20th December 2021