Should Pregnant Women Risk Mood Meds?
“I thought I just don’t feel right. I don’t feel like I’m happy,” Sevlie said. “There was a point where I literally felt like I wanted to cut my stomach out because I was so detached from the baby at that point.” Sevlie had experienced depression once before when she was 15, for which she received medication and counseling. But after high school and through her first pregnancy at age 23, Sevlie had no mental health issues. Her depression during her second pregnancy was a development she would not accept. “I didn’t take [medication] when I was pregnant because I didn’t know there were any options,” said Sevlie, whose obstetrician recommended monitoring when she told him how she felt. “I knew once the baby came I could do that if I wanted to… But I knew that if it got out of control it could have an effect on the baby and my family. I thought: this is not happening!
