ABSTRACT
For many women who have experienced Perinatal Mood and Anxiety symptoms, the thought of conceiving again and the potential of going through this again is terrifying. Research tells us that by previously having had mood symptoms, a woman is anywhere between 25% and 41% higher risk of developing these symptoms again with a subsequent pregnancy. This chapter helps our readers formulate a plan for a subsequent pregnancy using their own experience and wisdom and the knowledge they have learned from this workbook. Working on a pregnancy and postpartum plan can help mitigate the risks of developing a Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder and manage the symptoms if they do actually occur again. Activities include constructing a comprehensive plan for pregnancy and postpartum recovery, drawing on the woman’s own experience dealing with perinatal mood symptoms. Specifically, women are guided in building their mental health plan including identifying their mental health team and listing their red flag mood symptoms. They create a sleep and feeding plan and name their support team in advance. This chapter also highlights ideas to manage sibling adjustment, positive couple time, and self-care.
