This week, Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Claire Smith about postpartum anxiety and the importance of early treatment. Dr. Smith is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and she’s a perinatal psychiatrist in the Women’s Reproductive Behavioral Health Clinic at MUSC.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Postpartum anxiety affects approximately 1 in 4 women. Doctor Claire Smith is here to talk about the importance of early treatment. Doctor Smith is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and she's a perinatal psychiatrist in the Women's Reproductive Behavioral Health Clinic at MUSC. Doctor Smith, tell us more about postpartum anxiety.
Dr. Claire Smith: The biggest thing to say is that, you know, the absence of anxiety is unlikely. Feeling anxious to some degree after having a baby is normal. And postpartum anxiety, like you mentioned, is very common. It's not a formal diagnosis, so it can encompass a lot of things, but sometimes it can be generalized anxiety disorder. And even if not, it can still interfere quite a bit with someone's everyday life.
Conner: What are some common symptoms and how does postpartum anxiety impact day to day life for a new mom?
Dr. Claire Smith: Something that is being talked about a little bit more is intrusive thoughts. So, upsetting, intrusive thoughts are really common, which can be standalone or part of a phenomenon called postpartum OCD. But most anxiety is hyper focused on the baby, like watching them breathe at the expense of your own sleep. This crippling fear of SIDs, choking. How much is the baby feeding? I don't want others to take care of them. You know, fear of driving with them, taking them out of the house. And so, you can see how these behaviors will begin to impact someone and make an already challenging time in life even harder.
Conner: And why is early treatment so important if someone is experiencing postpartum anxiety symptoms?
Dr. Claire Smith: Because if you're not sleeping, you know when you have the opportunity, you're not doing some activities for yourself, you're not allowing others to help out of this fear, your mental health will continue to suffer. Your relationships, your physical health, your less resilient. You feel isolated. It can impact bonding and attachment. It can model anxious behaviors to your child. Even depression can follow depending on the severity of your anxiety.
Conner: Well, how is postpartum anxiety typically treated?
Dr. Claire Smith: Well, to keep it very brief, therapy is basically always recommended, but medication is commonly utilized as well.
Conner: Tell us about the statewide MUSC resource called Moms IMPACTT that helps pregnant women and new moms get timely access to mental health care using telehealth when they're struggling with mental health issues like postpartum depression or anxiety.
Dr. Claire Smith: IMPACTT is a program that, as you said, serves anybody in the state of South Carolina who is pregnant or has postpartum or experiencing another type of perinatal issue. It was devised and created to find and target underserved patients and underserved counties in South Carolina, since they are underdiagnosed and undertreated for these issues. And, it is an access line for both patients and providers. So, patients, if they call in, they will get a call back from one of our care coordinators within 30 minutes of calling during business hours. So that's unusual. And they are connected with a care coordinator who can provide them with various resources, information for providers, including our program, if that is appropriate.
Conner: Doctor Smith, thanks for talking with us about postpartum anxiety.
Dr. Claire Smith: You're welcome.
Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
