Though all opinions are my own, this blog post is sponsored by SSM Health Women’s Health. For more information on sponsored posts, click here.

First Trimester

When people first find out you’re pregnant there are often a lot of questions.

Will you find out the gender?

How far along are you?

Are you having any cravings?

But I think the most important question to ask any mom-to-be is, “How are you feeling?”. If the woman answers, “Fine.” Follow up and ask again, “How are you REALLY feeling?” because usually during the first trimester everything is not fine. At least it wasn’t for me.

Besides the typical first trimester symptoms of extreme fatigue, headaches, and some moments of nausea, I have been feeling depressed. This emotion certainly caused me some alarm since I had never experienced it with prior pregnancies.

Thankfully, my team of medical professionals at SSM Health Women’s Health have taken my mental health concerns seriously and brought me a lot of relief through my first trimester appointments.

Before I even stepped foot in the office I completed a quick online questionnaire through my MyChart account. Two of the questions were about my current mental health status. That made me feel as though my mental health throughout this pregnancy is something my care team at SSM Health would consider extremely important. I then felt comfortable bringing up my concerns about my depression with my doctor.

Learn more about SSM Health Maternity Care by clicking on the highlighted words.

Together we discussed why I might be feeling so down (hormones, world events, seasonal depression, etc). He helped me realize that a lot of my emotions were coming from the fact that I had miscarried before this pregnancy. I was having such anxiety in this first trimester because of losing a baby not too long ago. I’ve been terrified of losing this one too and that is one of the factors triggering my current mental state.

Together we agreed that medication at this point wasn’t necessary. My doctor thinks that with each visit and test/ultrasound that has a good result my mood will significantly improve over time. I completely agree. I also know that my team will continue to check in on my mental health throughout my pregnancy to make sure I’m doing okay.

One of the biggest reasons I recommend being seen by SSM Health Women’s Health is because I have never felt rushed out of an appointment. I always have a ton of questions and my care team goes to great lengths to clearly answer each and every single one of them. I’m a numbers girl and my doctor knows this. He always has the most updated statistics to give me for the questions I ask.

During my first trimester, I was able to do genetic testing, have multiple ultrasounds, and talk to a number of medical professionals on my care team. Many of whom I am very familiar with from my pregnancy with Parker! I have to have a number of extra ultrasounds because of the history of my water breaking so early. I was able to get all of those appointments scheduled already for easy planning and selected times that best fit my busy summer schedule.

I’m excited to be moving into my second trimester. Especially since the chance of me having a miscarriage is now down to 1-2% (see – told you I was a numbers girl!). I want to enjoy this pregnancy as much as possible knowing that it will be my last. My emotions are already starting to improve. I hope with time and each reassuring medical appointment my anxiety will continue to lessen.