Table 3 Feelings and symptoms associated with distress during the perinatal period
Category | Example | Percentage (n) of prenatal women N = 141 | Percentage (n) of postnatal women N = 169 | Percentage (n) of perinatal women N = 310 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Upset and tearfula | My partner couldn’t come to my ultrasound appointment. I cried and got very upset (A171) | 41 (58) | 56 (77) | 44 (135) |
Worry and overthinking | I was worried he might have caught Covid-19. I wasn’t able to contact the GP and had to take my baby to A&E. It turned out he was ‘just’ teething. I was very distressed and upset, because I was thinking about the worst even when it was nothing serious (P40) | 28 (39) | 26 (44) | 27 (83) |
Fearful and scared | Made me feel in danger for my life and babies, very distressed and struggled to carry on working (A101) | 16 (22) | 10 (17) | 13 (39) |
Guilt, failure, self-blame, and inadequacy | I was triggered by all conversations I have with anyone. I feel vulnerable about sharing my feelings and cry and it makes me feel guilty and ashamed. I want to turn back time and relive it better because I end up regretting having the energy or not saying the right things. I get distressed and upset over everything. I can’t reach expectations or other people’s and just want to be invisible (P249). | 8 (11) | 14 (24) | 11 (35) |
Anxiety and nervousness | I hadn’t felt the baby move for a while, all the anxiety of fertility treatments and miscarriages came back to me (A106)) | 11 (16) | 10 (17) | 11 (33) |
Stressed | My baby had a nosebleed and I was stressed out because I had to go to the local hospital (P2) | 11 (15) | 8 (14) | 9 (29) |
Frustrated, agitated, and disappointed | Doing housework and feeling unsupported by my husband who just wanted to spend the day doing nothing (sleeping, watching tv, relaxing). We had a brief argument where I voiced my frustrations (A41) | 9 (13) | 7 (12) | 8 (25) |
Panic | I put her down and have a meltdown, it’s like I’m screaming on the inside, like I’m rushing, panicked. (P116) | 7 (10) | 7 (11) | 7 (21) |
Overwhelmed and unable to cope | I felt extremely overwhelmed and just wanted to hide away and ignore her and the world P194 | 5 (7) | 7 (12) | 6 (19) |
Sad and low | I woke up just feeling generally down. My husband was the same so neither of us really talked and when we did it was snippy. I cried, I took deep breaths, walked around the house aimlessly, tried to sleep it off. (A77) | 8 (11) | 4 (6) | 5 (17) |
Angry, irritated and on edge | I got so angry I was shaking and wandering round the house doing loads of chores to distract me (P218) | 3 (4) | 6 (10) | 5 (14) |
Nightmares and intrusive thoughts | Repetitive nightmares of my baby being taken away from me and i never got to see her (A182) | 5 (7) | 3 (5) | 4 (12) |