Antepartum Depression
So often we hear of postpartum depression, but we rarely hear of another equally-severe diagnosis: antepartum depression.
Hey y’all, Tiffany here.
I’m about to start sharing something extremely personal with you. This was a difficult post to write, but I felt like it was important.
For most women, pregnancy is a wonderful, joyous time. They feel the wonder and awe of a new life growing inside of them.
For some women, pregnancy is great, but it is also full of morning sickness, fatigue, and kinship with an elephant (especially around the ankles!).
For 20% of women, however, pregnancy is a time of anxiety, fear, and depression that far outweighs what should be expected from these hormone changes.

The Beginning
When I became pregnant with my first child, I started feeling some anxiety. I would envision myself on a walk after she was born, and then someone would come steal the stroller from me. Or I would be driving down the road, and suddenly I could clearly “see” myself in a horrific car accident that would cause too much damage to my abdomen for the pregnancy to be saved.
It’s typical for first-time moms to be nervous about when the babe comes, so I thought I was just normal. I mentioned it once or twice to friends (and even my mom), and they all assured me that they had the same thing happen to them.
But then the nightmares began.
Living a Nightmare
When I was pregnant with my first child, I started having nightmares. These weren’t regular nightmares; these were real. Starting at about 5 months, I would have extremely realistic dreams that my husband was having an affair because I was getting too fat.
While I knew in my head this was ludicrous, I couldn’t shake the feeling.
I would wake up each morning, dreading when my husband would leave for the day because it meant I could no longer reassure myself that he wasn’t cheating since he wasn’t in my sight.
I had these nightmares every single night. For weeks. They got more and more real, and after a few months, I couldn’t really distinguish between my dreams and reality. I tripled my exercise and cut my calorie intake in half because I kept hearing my husband’s voice from my dreams mocking me for being fat, asking, “How could I ever still love you when you look like that?”
READ MORE AT:
savingtalents.com
Symptoms
Some of the symptoms of antepartum depression include (but are not limited to):
- Persistent sadness
- Difficulty concentrating
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Loss of interest in activities you typically enjoy
- Anxiety
- Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
- Change in eating habits
- Recurring thoughts of death, suicide, or hopelessness
As you go through your pregnancy, or as you watch the pregnancy of someone else, please keep an eye out for these symptoms! Sometimes, yes, you’ll encounter these while pregnant (especially sleeping too much or a change in eating!). However, they could be a sign of something more serious, like antepartum depression.
About the Author:
Tiffany Thomas is a chocoholic, former math teacher, and homeschooling mom with Crohn’s Disease. She and her husband Phillip (who is an engineer) work together on the blog Saving Talents. They enjoy spending time with their family, geeking out over sci-fi together, and saving money.
Social media accounts and website:
- https://savingtalents.com/
- Instagram- @savingtalents
- https://twitter.com/savingtalents
- https://www.facebook.com/savingtalents/
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/savingtalents/
Do you or anyone you know have Antepartum Depression?
Do you have a Wellness Wednesday Blog or Guest Post you’d Like me to Share?
Guest Bloggers Wanted
Hello, I’m Thuy of honeybunnytwee. I write a Wellness Wednesday guest bloggers series. Send an article or link to a blog post about health and wellness, self-care, fitness, or mental health at [email protected] or fill out this Google Form. Upon review, you’ll have a chance to be featured! I’m always looking for more Wellness Wednesday submissions.
Wow. I have never heard of this…but I adopted my daughter. I wonder how many other women suffer like this? It is good you saw it in your second pregnancy right away. You are very brave for being so transparent! Good for you for brining awareness to this.
oh wow I had never heard of this before! Thank you for shedding light on this!
Wow I always thought that most of these symptoms are due to pregnancy hormones and mood swings.But I never heard of Antepartum Depression,but now thanks to your article I’m more aware of it 😍 Thank you so much ❤
I had no idea! I’ve never heard of this before but wow! Now that I”m reading it, I wonder if I may have had a bit of this during my own pregnancy.
I really didn’t have any idea about this until you share this with me. Thank you for sharing this. It’s such a wonderful insight!
I have never heard of antepartum depression but it sounds like what a friend of mine described she went through when she was pregnant. It sounds horrible and I feel for anybody who goes through this.
Sooo important and informative – thank you!
vivid dreams can be both confusing and so terrifying
Gosh this is such an important topic. Great that you’re creating awareness 💚
I had briefly heard of this before, but I didn’t know a lot about it. It sounds like a very stressful thing to have to deal with, thank you for providing information on this and being strong enough to share your own story with us.
Thanks for sharing this topic and creating awareness.
Pregnancy is the most difficult phase of women’s life. Things may turn upside down mentally and physically. Glad you came up with this post to help others.
I never knew there was another kind of depression! Wow! This is eye opening!
I am not yet in your situation, but I understand the struggle. We need to be more understanding coz motherhood isnt easy.
It is amazing how little people know about this condition and the reason why all of us need to be better informed by our doctors during pregnancy. I’m astonished.