Why do I constantly have thoughts of my baby coming into harm?

[peanutbutterjelly95]

I'm constantly having thoughts about my baby being hurt e.g. falling down the stairs, drowning in the bath, something falling on top of her. I have these thoughts everyday. Why is this happening? I feel like I'm going crazy.

It’s a form of postnatal anxiety in the form of intrusive thoughts. It’s worth talking to your GP about what help they can offer.

You should really discuss this with a professional. Make a GP appointment. These thoughts can happen to many women, but for some they are perhaps too intrusive and require more support. You wouldn't be alone. You must look after yourself first and foremost.

I have suffered with this, I do with all my children to some extent but it was awful when they were babies. The PP was right, intrusive thoughts, it’s a thing.

I had this too, it’s scary and alarming in equal measures, isn’t it? Can you make an appointment with your Gp?

They are called intrusive thoughts, and it is a common, horrible form of postpartum anxiety, particularly with a first child and with elevated risk if you had a traumatic birth.

It is absolutely something to take to your doctor or health visitors. Even just knowing it unfortunately isn't unusual is helpful imho. There are some helpful non-medication strategies including concentrating on your breathing, noting the thought and just letting it pass, but not giving it weight. On the other hand, medication to give you a reset can also be good. It isn't something you have to or should live with.

It will pass. I had it after my first and described it recently to someone here as like an auto-immune disease of the brain. I loved him so much and was desperate to protect him, so kept seeing the harm he could come to.

Hope this helps and good luck to you both.

First time mum? Feeling a wee bitty overwhelmed and inexperienced? It’s not unusual.

You’re going to be fine. Your baby undoubtedly will get hurt at some point but they all do. You’re not a bad mum you’re doing fine.

It's intrusive thoughts and anxiety. It's common for mothers of young babies to experience this.

Hopefully it passes as your baby gets older.

You're not going crazy. You have these thoughts because you have a strong instinct to avoid danger. Google intrusive thoughts and read up on some reputable websites.

Speak to your GP to check where you are on the scale. How old is your baby?

I had this in the early days and weeks of having my DD, but it was all about fears of what could happen to her as a teen/grown up. It went away quite soon, but to be fair, the anxiety about your child's welfare never goes away completely.

You don't say how long this has been going on, but if it overwhelms and distresses you, then seek help.

Good luck.

I had (still have sometimes) this with my first, as did so many of my friends. It’s really common. Definitely speak to your HV or GP if you feel it’s unmanageable, but I found just knowing it’s really normal helped me loads.

I had the same. All the time, every day imagining the worst- ridiculous stuff. I also thought I was going mad. I told my SIL and she said if I know I'm being irrational that's ok - it's when you legitimately think all those things could happen you should be worried. It went away after a whole and I didn't have it on my other kids. Id recommend telling someone in real life. Your GP or someone you trust.

This happened to me after my Dd was born. I had an emergency c section and because I needed more help to do things or needed my partner to do them I had intrusive thoughts such as "what if he trips on the stairs while holding her?" Or "what if she slips under the water in the bath?" I used to not be able to relax when my mum took her for a walk in case someone ran into them or tried to take her. I think it came from the fact I couldn't really do much at the beginning as stairs were hard and leaning over the bath was really sore and I couldn't take her for a nice long walk so others had to do it for me but I didn't want anyone else to have the responsibility. I was her mum and I was the safest person to do it in my post-birth brain. It was not a nice feeling at all. But I learned it was totally normal and it's true when they say it passes. Mine passed as I started to be able to do things more myself because I got a lot more movement back. I then realised it was all ok and safe and being able to be more involved seemed to calm me down a lot. I learned to love it when someone took her out for a walk so I could have a nap or a quiet cup of coffee haha

Yep complete normal and utterly horrible because people don't talk about it openly and you think you're going mad.
You're not.
Allow the thought, don't try and stop it. Let it pass and say well that's not true.
Practice this and it gets better.

I had this with my first baby. Horrible. It’s a combination of tiredness, anxiety, love for your child and just this overwhelming sense of responsibility. Babies are so unbelievably vulnerable and rely totally on you.
it does pass. It’s also very common. I’d speak to your GP though for help.

Oh wow. I had this with my second. It went away after a while. But I'd never heard of it.

My HV told me this is common and quite normal for new mothers and it does get better over time. But that if the feelings stop you from being able to live your life in a normal way, then you should definitely seek some help. I couldn't watch the news for months when dd was born as the world was horrible. It did indeed get better, but as a parent it never goes away entirely - like a little bit of your heart wandering about the world. My dd has gone to Uni and I still worry about her a bit.