How Long Does Postpartum Anxiety Last?

How long does postpartum anxiety last?

This is a question that a lot of anxious parents will ask themselves. How long does postpartum anxiety last? Will it go away on its own? What can I do to help?

Let’s start with what postpartum anxiety is!

Postpartum anxiety, better referred to as perinatal anxiety, is anxiety brought on by pregnancy or postpartum.

This means anywhere from conception (and sometimes prior to conception!), all the way through 1-3 years postpartum. Anxiety in this period is typically related to parenthood and the baby.

This is typically the parents that buy things like Owlet monitors for their full-term, uncomplicated baby, and then still have trouble sleeping because they worry about something happening to their baby in the night.

Or, the parent that has difficulty allowing the baby to be put down or held by others because they are worried something bad is going to happen.

These are fears that are outside of the normal worry of parenthood. Is it normal for parents to worry about something happening to their baby? Absolutely. Is it normal for these thoughts to impact sleep and daily functioning? This is when it becomes more diagnosable.

Common symptoms of postpartum anxiety can be: difficulty sleeping due to worrying, tightness or tension in the body, difficulty controlling worrying, worrying too much about different things, etc.

So, how long does it last?

Well, that depends on a lot of things. Some people have postpartum anxiety that last for a few weeks and then goes away on its own. Some people have postpartum anxiety that can last years without treatment. There is not a good indicator of how long it may last. However, with treatment, postpartum anxiety is treatable!

It can impact partners!

Postpartum anxiety can impact partners as well and looks very similar in partners! Just because partners are the non-birthing member, does not mean they are exempt from perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

What does treatment look like?

Again, this depends on the individual! Often things like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), or medications can be very helpful.

Our clinic offers complimentary 15-minute consultations that are for this exact purpose. We want to hear about you and what you are struggling with and see how we can help or make recommendations for other things if we don’t think we are what would be the most helpful.

Have more questions? Feel free to reach out!