Pregnancy is wonderful. But don't buy the myth that it protects against depression.

We were trained to believe pregnant women are protected from depression. That the joy of pregnancy creates some kind of emotional shield.

The data tells a different story.10-14% of pregnant women experience depression. That's the same rate as non-pregnant women.

Sometimes higher.

Here's what we see in practice: Pregnant women who feel guilty for being depressed. Clinicians who miss obvious symptoms because they expect happiness. A healthcare system that screens for everything except the mood disorder affecting 1 in 8 pregnant patients.

The myth isn't just wrong. It's dangerous.

When we assume pregnancy equals emotional protection, we stop looking for the signs. We normalize symptoms that shouldn't be normalized. We let women suffer in silence because they think feeling depressed makes them "bad mothers."It doesn't.

Depression during pregnancy leads to missed prenatal appointments, substance use, low birth weight babies, and preterm births. Some women even terminate wanted pregnancies because their depression feels unbearable.

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale takes 10 questions and 3 minutes. It's twice as effective as clinical interview alone—and works just as well during pregnancy as after.

But we have to use it. And we have to believe what it tells us.

Pregnancy can be protective against suicide ideation—rates do drop by about half. But protection against suicide thoughts isn't the same as protection against depression itself.

That distinction matters.

The most therapeutic thing to do? Normalize mood changes in pregnancy. Tell patients it's not unusual to feel depressed while pregnant. That relief in their eyes when they realize they're not broken—that they're just human—changes everything.

Depression doesn't care if you're pregnant. But we should care if you're depressed.

We're exploring this exact challenge in our new Mood Disorders in Pregnancy course (https://lnkd.in/e4CncJYU). How do you approach mood screening in your pregnant patients?

Join the conversation on LinkedIn with Dr. Carlat