Peripartum and Postpartum Anxiety

Peripartum and postpartum anxiety (PPA) is not currently a standalone diagnosis in the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Common manifestations of PPA can include symptoms such as excessive worry related to one’s child, difficulties with sleep or breathing, and repeated thoughts or images of bad things happening to one’s child (UNC School of Medicine, 2015). Generalized anxiety disorder or adjustment disorder with anxiety may be appropriate diagnoses, depending on the specific circumstances (Ross & McLean, 2006). Due to shared risk factors, it is quite common for individuals diagnosed with anxiety disorders to also meet the criteria for major depressive disorder (APA, 2013). In fact, one study found that 20% of women who were diagnosed with postpartum depression had comorbid anxiety at two weeks postpartum (Miller, Hoxha, Wisner, & Gossett, 2015)