Sexual Aspects of Mental Health Disturbances in Pregnancy and Young Parenthood

Mijke Lambregtse-van den Berg*, Hester Pastoor

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter/Conference proceedingChapterAcademic

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Abstract

This chapter will address the various mental health disturbances that can happen in the period between aiming at conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and the first postpartum year. Whereas some women with a psychiatric disease would like to become mothers, other women develop mental health disturbances as a direct result of reproductive changes. The important ones are depression during pregnancy, peripartum anxiety and tocophobia, postpartum blues, postpartum depression, and, in some women, postpartum psychosis. Those mental health disturbances impact the woman’s sexuality, her partner’s sexuality, and the relationship. When drug therapy is required, we must pay extra attention to the risks for the unborn and breastfed baby. On the other hand, psychiatric medication has extensive sexual side effects. The chapter uses several case histories to demonstrate the clinical impact and potential solutions for these challenging situations. This chapter is part of ‘Midwifery and Sexuality’, a Springer Nature open-access textbook for midwives and related healthcare professionals.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMidwifery and Sexuality
PublisherSpringer International Publishing AG
Pages197-206
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9783031184321
ISBN (Print)9783031184314
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s). 2023.

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