Advice for preventing PND/post-natal Anxiety in someone with history of Anxiety

[PiggyMad]

I'm 28 weeks pregnant and concerned about getting a recurrence of anxiety/PND after my first baby is born.

I suffered with anxiety for about 2 years, about 2 years ago and it was hell - I couldn't leave the house, was convinced I had various terrible illnesses, cried all the time, had nasty physical symptoms and was generally a mess.

So far I have been pretty stable during the pregnancy - apart from the odd hormonal outburst, but I want to prepare myself for life with a newborn as much as possible and want to try to keep in the best frame of mind to stop me slipping back to how I was.

I was wondering if anyone has any pearls of wisdom/advice for the birth and first few weeks to help me adjust mentally. I am planning on writing myself some notes to refer to when I'm feeling vulnerable of 'normal' post-birth feelings, positive thoughts, activities I can do to calm me down etc.

I hope this is the right place to post this - apologies if it offends anyone.

Sorry to ask this, but do you have the Mirena Coil as birth control? If you read the forums there are thousands of woman, had PND because the Mirena Coil causes depression and anxiety is some woman. I know I am suffering after the coil ws taken out last Thursday.

Sorry if not the right place to post. Just a thought
Look after yourself

I had pnd/anxiety after my first was born but managed not to get it again after my second. I did a lot differently. I know it's not possible for everyone but the one thing that made the biggest difference for me was hiring an Independent Midwife - not a cheap option but loads of support both before, during and after the birth.

If that's too expensive, I would also recommend looking at a doula or a mother's help type of option. Just having someone coming round for an hour or so each day after birth to help out was really useful for me.

Don't try to rush back into normality either - give yourself time to relax/recover after the birth. That also made a lot of difference to me as the better I felt physically, the easier it was with the other stuff. And taking it easy when you hit those day 4 hormones is definitely a good idea.

Be kind to yourself. Remember what a massive thing having a baby is and don't think you are not coping if you find it hard at times. Ask for and accept as much support as you can from people you trust if you need it. Know that having a baby makes all women very emotional at times. Speak to your midwife/ hv about any concerns you have about yourself as well as the baby and don't put any pressure on yourself to do anything other than attend to you and your baby's basic needs as far as possible.

I never felt as if i had the right or the ability to do any of the above and really wish I had. you have done brilliantly to get through your pregnancy as well as you have so far with your hstory of anxiety- take confidence from that.

Look after yourself, you deserve it, and I hope it all goes great for you.

fitz I've never had the mirena coil but have heard only negatives about them! Will definitely avoid in the future.

crafty thanks for your advice. I wondered about a postnatal doula or even just a cleaner for a couple of weeks - will need to look into finances. I'm thinking of asking my mum to come and help with shopping etc once DH goes back to work. I'm planning on spending the first week in bed with no visitors to try to rest up and establish breastfeeding. Mostly, I'm trying not to plan too much in my head in case everything goes pear-shaped! Hard being a bit of a control freak!

crosspost racing
I think I am concerned about what is 'normal' - e.g. sometimes if I'm having a rough day I get a bit panicky that I'm slipping back, rather than just viewing it as a blip, iykwim.