Can postnatal depression just go suddenly

[Laila362]

When my dp was born I never got that sense of love I was expecting. I wanted to run away from the hospital ward and go back to my old life but never actually would have. It was just a fleeting thought. I did however, mourn the loss of my independence and just generally felt sad and indifferent to my baby. My doctor said he thought I had PND. However around 2 weeks ago I suddenly fell unconditionally in love with my baby son. I love looking after him and can't bear to be without him and I'm very happy. My doctor said I probably never had PND and it may have been normal emotions. Is it possible for PND to justs disappear by itself without medication? Could it come back if I did have PND?

It sounds like the dr said - you did not have PND, but instead had the normal hormonal reactions and on top of the absolute exhaustion of labour and adjusting to all the demands of a tiny baby (esp if first) - many parents have something called "baby blues" due to these factors which tend to go and never return. So sounds good news for you!

So hope you can relax. PND is not a fleeting thought and usually needs medication or treatment from a perinatal mental health team if severe. Or hospitalisation if leads to psychosis and thoughts of harming the baby.

It is hard being a Mum to a tiny parent - loss of job/career/income for the time, lack of sleep, new routines, lack of adult contact if do not go out much etc and some people take longer to enjoy maternity leave than others! But what I found reassuring was knowing that it was normal to be tired, exhausted, fed up of housework, longing for an hour of metime, time to wash my hair even etc - and those feelings are normal, are part of what happens etc.