Chorevia

Day 54 of 280 · 7 weeks + 5 days

Mood, named

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 6 sources · Plain-text version

Mood swings are expected this week. Today is about telling an ordinary low day from something that needs help, and where to turn.

Size this week
about the size of a grape
Length this week
around 10 mm from head to bottom
A South Asian woman in a cardigan sitting on the edge of her bed in late-afternoon light, writing a single number in a small notebook on her knee.

Seven weeks and five days. Today is about naming how you feel, on paper if not out loud, and knowing where the line is between an ordinary low day and the kind that needs a call.

Your baby

A single green grape on a plain pale wooden table, close up, soft window light.

Around 10mm from head to bottom, about the size of a grape (NHS). The brain, face and eyelids are developing this week (NHS). Those eyelids have a long job ahead: they close during weeks 11 to 14 and don't reopen until about week 28 (MedlinePlus).

Your body

Mood changes are on the NHS's list for this week, alongside tiredness, nausea, sore breasts, headaches and cramping (NHS). Mood swings from hormonal changes can begin a few weeks after conception (NICHD). A swing, though, is not the same as a mood that stays low most days.

The CDC's numbers are plain: about 1 in 10 women of reproductive age in the US reported symptoms suggesting a recent major depressive episode, and depression is common and can be treated; most people, even with severe depression, improve with treatment (CDC). Anxiety during and after pregnancy is as common as depression (AAP). Looking after your mental wellbeing is on the NHS's to-do list for the week, next to the folic acid (NHS).

Try today

  1. The feelings thermometer

    Time: 1 minute a night, for a week

    1. Tonight, give the day a number from 1 to 10, where 10 is the best you feel. Write it with the date.

    2. Add three words about why: tired, nauseous, a good call with a friend.

    3. Do the same every night for a week. Don't average the numbers and don't argue with them.

    4. If the numbers stay low for two weeks, take the page to your provider. The CDC's advice is to seek treatment as soon as possible if you think you have depression (CDC).

    Make it work:

    The scale is ours, not a medical test. It catches a pattern before you'd have to remember one.

Watch for

  • Normal

    a mood that lifts and drops in the same afternoon; mood changes are on the NHS's list this week (NHS).

    Call your provider

    as soon as possible if you think you have depression; it can be treated (CDC).

  • Normal

    wanting a nap by mid-afternoon; tiredness is on the same list (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for overwhelming tiredness, which is on the CDC's list of urgent maternal warning signs (CDC).

  • Normal

    a worry that comes and passes.

    Call your provider

    for scary, upsetting thoughts that don't go away, extreme sadness or anger, or losing interest in things you used to enjoy (AAP).

  • Normal

    reading this bullet and finding none of it applies.

    Call 911

    or seek care immediately for thoughts about harming yourself or your baby (CDC); in a crisis you can also call or text 988, or call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, 1-833-TLC-MAMA (CDC).

For you

If the number tonight is low, you did not cause it. The AAP's words: "These feelings are not something you caused by doing or not doing something." They can be treated if you seek help, they won't go away on their own, and several medications that treat depression and anxiety are safe for pregnant women, with counseling as another option (AAP). A previous or family history of depression, and little or no social support, may raise the risk (CDC), which is a reason to tell your provider your history, not a verdict.

If you're the partner: ask for the number, not a summary. And the CDC's line is for you: don't leave another person alone if she or he is in crisis (CDC).

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Get each day’s note the morning it applies

Add your due date to a free Chorevia household, and every morning until the birth the day's note arrives in the app and by email: what's forming, what your body is doing, one thing to try, what to watch for, and a word for you.

Create your household