Can PND start several months after giving birth?

[Puppyseahorse]

The first few months after my baby’s birth, I felt fine- baby blues for first few weeks, but other than that, ok. My baby is now 3 months and I feel very different.

Enormous anxiety about her health, crippling guilt and fear over the fact that I drank alcohol before I knew I was pregnant (unplanned pregnancy), and now I feel like I have a constant cloud over my head- as though something absolutely terrible has happened and I’m never going to feel joy again.

Any time I feel relaxed or start to enjoy my baby, an alarm goes off in my head telling me not to be happy- because something terrible has/ or will happen.

I thought that my hormones would have stabilised by now, so I’m confused about why I’m feeling this way. It’s horrible- completely ruining my time that I should be spending enjoying and bonding with my baby.

Has anyone else had this experience?

I got PND approximately 11 months after the birth of my DD. I think in retrospect it may have been tied up to me stopping breastfeeding around that time.

I ended up going to the doctor and just bursting into tears. She put me on some antidepressants and they really helped. I just regret that I stopped taking them after six months because I thought I was better and could manage without them.

I think we underestimate how much and for how long our hormones can get disturbed after birth, as well as the sleep problems caused by both them and the baby. And don’t forget the physical effects on your body from the birth. I think three months is early days.

Please do whatever you need to get help and support, and never feel you have to justify what you are feeling. It’s your experience and it’s real for you.

Best of luck

@Puppyseahorse, you poor thing What you describe in your post sounds like classic postnatal depression. Please get yourself to your GP and ask for help, don't struggle with this on your own any more. It's not uncommon for PND to be diagnosed up to a year after birth, and you're not alone.

My DS was six months when I finally admitted to myself that something was wrong. I rang the surgery and sobbed down the phone at the receptionist She was amazing and got me an appointment straight away. I started a course of ADs and within a few weeks was feeling so much better.

Get help, you'll soon be feeling better too