Depression during pregnancy: Is it hormonal?

Article from iVillage.com. Found it VERY useful.
Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders. Lifetime prevalence rates for major depression for adults are 5.8 percent, although the prevalence rates for women are about 8 percent. Depression postpartum is a well-recognized phenomenon. However, depression during pregnancy is less well understood.
Major depression is classified under the mood disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). It is defined as the occurrence of depressed moods or loss of interest or pleasure in activities, along with at least four other symptoms during the same two week period. These symptoms may include disturbances in appetite, weight, sleep, motor activity, energy, concentration or the presence of suicidal thoughts and feelings of worthlessness or guilt. An episode of major depression can be categorized as severe, moderate or mild according to the degree to which the affected person's symptoms interfere with social and occupational functioning, including feeding, clothing and maintaining personal hygiene.
Depressive symptoms are usually of less intensity and duration than diagnosable depression. The boundary between diagnosable depression and depressive symptoms is sometimes unclear.
Prevalence estimates of depression during pregnancy varies between 4 and 7.6 percent. The incidence of prenatal depression seems to be increased in the first trimester, suggesting that this is a time of maximum vulnerability to depression. However, depressive symptoms occur in 8 to 38 percent of pregnant women.
It is common to get "the blues" from time to time. Sadness is a normal part of life. Pregnancy has been depicted in the media as a time when women bloom and get rosy complexions. In my experience, both personally and professionally, this is often far from the truth. Pregnancy is a life-altering event and a prelude to one of life's largest and most intense undertakings. Women can be overwhelmed with the spectrum of physical changes taking place and the psychological adaptation necessary to accommodate pending lifestyle changes.
Clients frequently share thoughts with me such as "I feel as if my body has been invaded" or "I can barely take care of myself; how can I take care of a baby?" Fear and trepidation walk hand in hand with joy and anticipation.
Women need an extraordinary amount of support from partners, friends and family during pregnancy, as well as several months postpartum. If there are other coincidental issues such as financial instability or marital or family discord, job dissatisfaction or maternal or family health concerns, this "pile-up" of stressors can induce a chronic state of sadness and hopelessness known as clinical depression.
Counseling, as well as medication, have been shown to be very effective in lessening depression and reducing the incidence of postpartum depression. There are several tools that are helpful in determining if this state of mind necessitates a consultation with a primary care provider or a mental health professional.
If you answer "yes" to more than two of the following questions, you may be suffering from clinical depression:
1. Much of the time, do you feel...
* sad? yes
* lethargic?
* pessimistic?
* hopeless?
* worthless?
* helpless?
2. Much of the time, do you...
* have difficulty making decisions?
* have trouble concentrating? yes
* have memory problems?
3. Lately, have you...
* lost interest in things that used to give you pleasure? yes
* had problems at work or in school?
* had problems with your family or friends?
* isolated yourself from others, or wanted to be isolated? yes
4. Lately, have you...
* felt low energy? yes
* felt restless and irritable? yes
* had trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or getting up in the morning? yes
* lost your appetite -- or gained weight? yes
* been bothered by persistent headaches, stomach aches or back aches? yes
* been bothered by muscle or joint pains? yes
5. Lately, have you...
* been drinking more alcohol than normal?
* been taking more mood-altering drugs than you used to?
* engaged in risky behavior, such as not wearing a seat belt or
* crossing streets without looking?
6. Lately, have you been thinking about...
* death? yes
* hurting yourself?
* your funeral? yes
* killing yourself?

If you are uncertain about your state of mind, I would seek the opinion of your obstetric care provider who could direct you to some counselling resources in your area.

Curry Puff.. Meehoon Goreng...

woke up at 4.15 am desperately wanting curry puffs. Lay awake for quite a while trying to brush off the images of curry puff. *sigh*

i ended up cooking meehoon goreng [since i can't eat keropok lekor without sauce] for myself, and now i'm eating it at 5 in the morning.

hmm...

Kidz around the world

Posted this in my other blog. Since she's someone's daughter too, i think it ought to be here as well. I almost cried hearing this girl singing the 'i really miss you' part. pity her, pity the world. stupid american government.

34 weeks... 6 weeks to go!

believe me, 6 weeks is a long long wait when u're pregnant.

but ...
Soon there'll be not much time for myself again.
Soon sleepless nights will begin again.
Soon it'll be 4 of us, no more 3.
Soon we'll hafta start once again bringing one extra bag everytime we go out.
Soon Jazz will be harder to handle, as she might become jealous or furious with d coming of new person bugging her place.
Soon the house could no longer play loud music/tv throughout the day, instead it'll be replaced with cries and laughter of one more little one.
Soon we'll be parents of two and Jazz is a big sister.
Soon there'll be two sizes of pampers to buy (eventho Jazz only wears pampers when sleeping at nite).

Life is changing, soon. Are we prepared?

Nyaris! Check Up 24th December 2006

Nyaris apa? Nyaris ke ward lagi!!

Somebody for sure is dying to say 'Serves you right!' to me. In fact he did so many times tadi. n mother kept on saying 'why is it your body so weak than mine?' hmmm...

Wat did i do? Membantai keropok lekor, is it a sin? Makan Nasik goreng, pun tak boleh ke? In fact everyone ate the nasik goreng yesterday. What what what??? What did i do sampai i puke 3 times yesterday throwing all the things in my stomach out? What did i consume till i had diarrhoea and got dehydrated for i-dunno-how-many-hundred-times in this pregnancy?

I am no fortune-teller, or Raven who can see the future. how would i know that wat i consume would later lead to dehydration, again? Cus i only took decent food. how would i know keropok lekor would be harmful? This is pregnancy we're talking about. It's unpredictable, things could go twist and turn in my stomach in a blink of an eye. So... is it really my fault that i hafta go to n fro to the hospital for like a hundred times during this pregnancy?? Compared to Jazz's pregnancy, this one is 100 times troublesome. Which, to me, i dunno about others, will make this particular baby even more special.

I am a strong believer that 'Penyakit Penghapus Dosa'. I know i am no perfect woman of God, but i haf faith. so maybe... being as naughty as i am, God luvs me so much that He gives me all this sickness, to wash my sins away. for as long as i remember, Hospitals and Clinics are my favourite hang out places.

So.... am i reaaaalllyyy to blame, 100%?

Ouch! My Hands hurt!

Carpal TUnnel Syndrome.

getting it again, i guess! sux, the pain sux. it feels like numbing across my hands, especially after waking up sleeping on my side. my blood vessels are swelling thus it's 'crushing' each other. some article says this is common towards the end of pregnancy. wutever it is, it sux. i could barely do nething much, even opening a bottle of 100 plus is a fuss. typing makes it sore, but bareable. the sucky thing is i can't do my ironing while the bajus are piling up like crazy again!! aaaa!! tensionnya!!

Today i'm 33 weeks and 3 days into my pregnancy. Hmm... nice number. last nite got kenduri at Along's for tahlil and for praying the safety of rombongan pengantin lelaki ke Pahang today, her son. i'm not going to Pahang, gila? hehe. mom and my whole family's going cept syamin, who jest got fever yesterday. demam abis SPM. citer dah menyimpang. sebenarnya nak citer, masa kenduri semalam, many of my experienced aunties and uncles kecoh, 'Ni dah nak beranak budak ni!' konon my perut turunlah, my face dah swell macam dah nak bersalin lah, eeee bikin cuak betul semua orang. my mom dok sengih-sengih, sukalah tu nak dapat cucu baru. katanya tunggu mama balik dari Pahang baru beranak. Apa diorang ni ingat aku suka ke beranak awal-awal ni. baru 33 weeks oi!!!

Physchologically, i was affected by all those comments last nite. terasa macam my opnening was effacing last nite. it hurts! dunnolah dah efface ke belum, Sunday ni next check up, kita tunggu dan lihat. berjalan bukan macam Happy Feet dah, dah macam tortoise. slow giler sebab my ari-ari area is soooo uncomfortable. hmm... diorang punya pasal la ni kecoh-kecoh semalam. eeee geramnya aku...!!

What a pleasant dream...

Yesterday was another tiring day for a bulger like me :op~. Mom had no choice but to ask me to come to d boutique and help her mind it cuss 1/2 of our staffs had to mind another promotion lot. So i had my usual backache last nite, susah nak berjalan and very very tired. After a few times waking up due to my backpain and going to the loo, i finally fell into a deep slumber nearly morning.

So i had this dream... it was defnitely in colours, cus i could remember every details. I recalled i was just finished with the 'bersalin' [labour] battle, and i delivered my baby girl with normal method. I remember feeling relaxed, then my baby was given to my embrace by a nurse. the rest of the room was dark, there were only lights on my baby's face, i could see her very clearly. i was about to breastfeed her. She looks almost like Jazzy when she was jest borned, with chubby cheeks, small mouth thin lips, her face was pinkishly fair, small sepet Abah's eyes and my thick hair, just like Jazz. She was very calm, not crying and sipped her milk patiently. then the dream drifted into another dream which i couldn't really recall what. and btw, i couldn't recognize which hospital was it, not az-zahrah or putrajaya, i just can't recognize where.

I dreamt of Jazz before she was born too. back then, i could also see her face. and yes she looked exactly like she was in the dream once she was birthed. my mom also tend to dream of all three of us before she gave birth. any other mothers dream of their babies before they were born?

It may be was just a dream, but a very pleasant one :o))