Antenatal/prenatal depression+anxiety

Hi all, wanted to share this (even though I'm quite late) in case any of you are going through something similar.

I became pregnant June 2016, and had a textbook pregnancy through the first two trimesters. Baby was healthy, I was feeling great, everything was going very smoothly. When I hit week 28, all of a sudden I was hit with severe anxiety and depression. It started with anxiety - I had several panic attacks that were not triggered by anything and had to visit the hospital several times because I felt like I couldn't breath. A couple of weeks after that I experienced very deep depression. I would cry and cry for hours, and nothing that used to make me happy before could uplift my mood. I'm generally a very active person, but even exercise had no impact on my mood. It got so bad to the point that I would beg my husband to take me to the hospital to get the baby out so I could feel better again, and I LOVED my baby from the moment I found out I was pregnant. It was extremely overwhelming since I had NO history whatsoever of mood disorders. This was all so new to me.

During that time I shared my feelings with friends and family and saw my OB and several psychiatrists about the situation. It was especially scary for my husband and family since they had never seen me in such a state before. I am usually a very confident, happy individual. I explained this to the psychiatrists I saw, but no one seemed convinced. Anxiety+depression out of no where, no way! Well, yes way, because it happened to me. Within the span of a week I went from my happy self to a being devoid of any happiness and overwhelmed with anxiety, with no apparent triggers.

I decided after much deliberation to start on antidepressants, more specifically a very low dose of sertraline. One reason for my decision was to become functional again. Another was because I wanted to address it before I had my baby, to avoid postpartum mood issues. Lastly, I believed that my stress and inability to eat well was impacting the baby more than an antidepressant would.

Within a couple of weeks I started to feel better. Not myself, but at least functional.

Now the day I went into labor and had my baby, it felt like that cloud of anxiety+depression was lifted. I continued taking my medication for a couple of days postpartum, but could tell within a week that I was back to myself again. I decided to stop taking the sertraline that week, and from that moment forward I was completely fine. No anxiety, no depression, even with the sleep deprivation and stress of a new baby.

I spoke to my OB about it at my 6 week checkup, and she said that although it's very rare, it does happen. You can experience mood disorders during your pregnancy exclusively, and it is okay.

I wanted to share this in case anyone else was going through something similar. I know I was very stressed out since this topic is not usually discussed because of how rare it is. If you are going through something like this it is normal and it happens. Even if you've never had a history of any mood disorders, like me, it could happen, and it's okay. It may not present itself the same way it did to me. It maybe shorter or longer of a period, or maybe the symptoms are different, more/less severe. Point is, it happens, and it's okay and normal. There's an end in sight as there was for me.

It's been 10 weeks since I had my baby and I've never felt better!

Good luck to everyone. pregnancy is tough on the body and the mind, but it's totally TOTALLY worth it.