AND - Does it really exist??

[doldrums]

Has anyone had this and if so how did they recognise it??

i reckon it definately exists. all through my last two pregnancies i was down, constantly moaning about physical discomforts and having nightmares and anxieties about the impending births.i was tearful nearly every day.had a few morbid thoughts. husband and best friend noticed i wasnt myself. but, as if by magic, it quickly subsided after the babies were born. don't know if it's hormonal related or just over anxiety, but it didnt help that i don't do pregnancy very well and seem to get ill a lot when im preg, plus having other children to look after.

Blimey! Click \link{http://www.unplannedpregnancies.co.uk\here} and onto the link marked antenatal depression. It is real and I had it with both of mine.

Thanks for the link Rhubarb. How did you deal with it? Bubblepop, that's how I feel. I don't sleep well and have anxieties,feel tearful and am not coping (mentally) with the physical niggles of pregnancy. When I tried to tell the midwife she still wrote "feeling fine" on my notes because there was nothing physically out of the ordinary. Also, I suspect DH is bored of hearing me moan about this or that discomfort. I think they think "you're not the first and you won't be the last so just get on with it".

The 'lack of sex drive and emotional "switch off"' strikes a chord as well.

Yes, it is real, and IIRC it is surprisingly common - affects something like 1 in 10 pg women (does that sound about right Rhubarb???). I felt absolutely hopeless, had suicidals thoughts - so ended up seeing a psychiatrist, and on Prozac at 30 weeks PG, but I think I was probably a moderate case, rather than a mild case.

can I get back toyou when I'm feeling ok? CAT me ok? Really, CAT me, I'm just a bit under te influence tonight. I can help.