How long does prenatal depression last?
Prenatal depression can occur at any time during a pregnancy. It can also happen during any pregnancy, even if you previously did not experience any symptoms of depression in previous pregnancies.
However, there is no clear-cut number of days or weeks for prenatal depression. Symptoms may come and go, which can make things difficult to record. A typical pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks and prenatal depression can happen at any time until delivery. If depression occurs after delivery, it is already postpartum depression.
If you are suffering from prenatal depression and not some degree of clinical depression before pregnancy, it is likely that your symptoms will subside sometime before you give birth.
Are there long-term effects of prenatal depression?
Unfortunately, there is not a lot of information available about prenatal depression on its own. While depression is a mental disorder, it definitely does affect the body and mind when not treated.
One study determined the relationship between prenatal depression and adverse effects on the fetus. The review study found that women who experience prenatal depression have a higher chance of delivering babies who are preterm or have a low birth weight.
Comments
Share your thoughts
Be the first to let Hello Doctor know your thoughts!
Join Us or Log In to join the discussion