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Mental health

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Original poster

prenatal depression is anyone else suffering

13 replies

jayjaybaby · 13/02/2006 22:38

hi its my first pregnancy and i lost my job just before i found out i was pg have felt horrid since my first scan at 8 wks and mw has referred me to my local perinatal pychiatrist wondering if anyone else is feeling this wat or is it because i'm young 24 and everyone around me seems to have been there and done it {blush}

OP posts:

ShaysMummy · 13/02/2006 22:41

i had prenatal and post natal with my first. i was 22. i am pregnant again and this time i dont seem to have prenatal. i am still 22, will be 23 when babe is born.
i wasnt given any help with the prenatal, i just cried it out.
it soon passed.

ShaysMummy · 13/02/2006 22:42

i found i was over the moon to be pregnant but still i felt sad!?
its very strange and scary, only people that have been there can understand i think.
prenatal is very wierd!!

Original poster

jayjaybaby · 13/02/2006 22:54

glad to know its not just me am finding being pg unemployed and at home allday very strange as have always worked full time so it all does get a bit much am worried about this pychiatrist bloke though

OP posts:

mummytosteven · 13/02/2006 22:57

I had problems with OCD and Depression when I was PG. GP was a bit useless, so I ended up getting the maternity hospital to refer me to a psychiatrist. I was really scared before the appointment, but he was really great, really helpful. I ended up on Prozac at 30 weeks PG, which I found very helpful. But you may not need meds depending on how depressed you are (counselling can help with mild depression). The psychiatrist will spend quite a lot of time going through your background - asking you bits about your childhood, any previous symptoms etc, and what your problems are at the moment, and then will discuss with you what your treatment will be.

ShaysMummy · 13/02/2006 22:58

i wouldnt worry about it. just let it all out, dont forget, they have helped people with the same thing before so nothing you say will shock him.
be open and honest. that way they can help you the best they can.

harrisey · 14/02/2006 16:29

((jayjaybaby))
I had prenatal depression with my ds (well, it was postnatal from my dd1 that didnt ever really go away).
I was put on antidepressants (Lustral) at 25 weeks and it made a huge difference to me.
The perinatal psychiatry people have heard it all before and are very helpful - just tell them how you are feeling.
I was 31 and it was my 2nd baby, so I don't think your age will really be why you have it. You will also be more at risk of PND so they will want to keep an eye on you for that.
Hope you can get some help and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy.

Amanda1 · 15/02/2006 09:22

Message withdrawn

CaptainCavemansMummy · 15/02/2006 09:30

Hi jjb
I had awful pnd but didn't realise it until I started having panic attacks at 34 weeks. I felt rotten through most of the pg but put that down to being tired and uncomfortable (ds was breech from at least 27 weeks and I had the most horrendous rib pain from where his head constantly bashed my right ribs!).
GP had also suffered so was v lucky that she referred me to the motherhood and mental health team at the hospital. They were fab. Reassured me I wasn't mad and that no-one was going to take the baby away from me - I was scared that if I couldn't cope whilst pg I would never manage after ds arrived!
Started on a mild sedative at 36 weeks which I took for 3 weeks until I had elective cs (breech) at 39 weeks. Then had antidepressant (can't remember which!) from day 1 post natal until ds was 12 weeks. Didn't look back and felt fab from ds being 4 days old.
Glad your mw has referred you - as the others have said, you can't shock them with how you're feeling as it's their bread and butter!!
Good luck, hope you get your appt soon. x

Rhubarb · 15/02/2006 23:47

This is normal jayjaybaby, trust me it is more common than you would think. When I was pregnant with my first I lost it. I was 29 too! But I wasn't ready for a baby and though I pledged to keep it, the depression was awful. I lost my friends, I became paranoid (everytime I went out I thought people were looking at me and talking about me), I shut myself away, I refused to talk to my dh or my family, I was finally taken to casualty at 8 months because I was threatening to cut the 'demon' out of my stomach. Now I'm not saying you will get that far, I pray to God you won't. But depression is an illness. Would you put up with a severe headache without taking a pill? The same with depression, it will not go away without treatment. Whether that be ABs or other treatment, you need to go back to your GP and/or midwife and tell them exactly how you feel.

Be honest with them. I thought they would take the baby away if I told them how I really felt, but they didn't. You need support and you need help. There is so much that can be done for you. If you want to talk please email me at guinness_maiden at hotmail dot com. Don't struggle with this alone, it is very common and there are things that can be done about it. Please seek help now!

Honeymum · 20/02/2006 16:29

Please seek help and consider anti-depressants. My sister is one week post-natal and she is on a psychiatric ward, after suffering from ante-natal depression for weeks before the end of her pregnancy.

mummytosteven · 20/02/2006 16:32

sorry to hear this honeymum I remember responding to your previous posts about your sisster.

Flamesparrow · 20/02/2006 16:41

There was a thread in antenatal clubs for this at one stage (I'll go bump it in a minute for you so that you can hopefully get support from there too).

I suffered terribly with DD, and on and off with this pregnancy (I would have good days, low days, and "I can't trust myself to be alone or I might do something stupid" days) - luckily mine was "just" prenatal last time, so I am hoping for the same this time... I am guessing the different hormone balance after having the baby meant that although I was affected during pregnancy, I didn't have pnd too.

Talking is one of the best things I have found. Tell people how you are feeling. Use the word "depression" (it gets taken more seriously than "feeling a bit low" etc). Let your midwife etc know how you are feeling so that they can keep an eye on you, and offer more support as and when needed.

fransmom · 21/02/2006 21:54

hi i've just been rading everyone's messages and now i can't stop crying. my dd was born nearly 10months ago, some days are just really bad but i still have to go to work and i don't think fiance really understands. like rhubarb, i thought that someone would take my daughter away and sometines i still do.
i find it hard to talk about how i feel because this was my 2nd pg but firstborn nad nobody round me understands or seems to

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