UK female MNer - have you experienced postnatal or pregnancy depression? Please complete a survey for MNHQ - £50 to be won NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

Hello

We're looking for folks who have experienced pregnancy depression and/or postnatal depression - whether or not you were formally diagnosed by a health professional to complete a short survey.

NB By 'postnatal depression', we mean depression that usually occurs that occurs up to a year after birth, rather than the tiredness, hormonal changes and emotional swings that are associated with 'baby blues' during the first couple of weeks.

We're conscious that some of the questions in the survey might be upsetting; please don’t feel that you have to complete it if so, we want you to prioritise your own wellbeing. If you are struggling with feelings of depression, always seek help from your GP or qualified healthcare professional. Help is also available from The Samaritans and there are more resources on our mental health webguide.

Individual responses collected from Mumsnet user surveys are held on a separate database that is password-protected and accessed only by a limited number of MNHQ staff, and all responses are destroyed or anonymised after three months.

This survey is open to all Mumsnet users who have given birth and who have experienced post natal or pregnancy depression. If you have experienced this more than once, please think about the most recent experience.

Add your details at the end if you'd like to be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 voucher for the store of your choice. All data will be kept confidential.

Here's the survey: www.surveymonkey.com/r/FQRY3RN

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw,
MNHQ

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I've had a quick look at this and I think you've got some problems with its design.

What is the difference between medical and emotional support from proffesionals? Are you just talking about medication? You also need a did not see this ptoffesional box etc.

Sorry for being a pedant but I think it's a shame to get lots of responses which are hard to interpret as folk will be filling it out differently.

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why did you put female in the thread title? how many uk men have ever been pregnant?

I found it very emotional to respond to this survey. I wish I were brave enough to speak publicly about the very hard times I went through but I'm not. I am still struggling.

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mustard so sorry to hear you're still struggling. I'm sure my ability to talk about it comes from an inbuilt pigheadedness! If you want to talk ever, drop me a pm.

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mustard as I completed it I realised that I would not have been able to for a long time and only now post a lot of help the fact I am able to shows how far I have come. You will get through it. Keep talking to those you trust and don't give up. I had to ask for help several times from different professionals but it was worth it.

Mustard, I still find it so difficult to talk about, years later. I can't articulate it very well, it's just been very hard.

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I think the question about seeking help about pregnancy depression should be expanded to include a reason. I didn't seek help because I didn't know what it was or that it even existed. Thats really common. My answer of not seeking help doesn't make it clear that it was because I didn't even know it was a thing until after id given birth rather than actively avoiding seeking help.

I agree the design looks a bit off. Most importantly you asked lots of questions about postnatal depression (a relatively well researched area) and bog all about prenatal depression (a relatively under researched, and misunderstood IMHO, condition).

Why bother asking if someone had prenatal depression and then not explore it in any way beyond did you seek medical help? FYI I did and NOBODY picked up on what I was actually begging for. Even afterwards my GP wanted to find an excuse or a cause for what was a very severe depressive episode that lasted several weeks when the fact was I was not coping and was totally bonkers*

I'm not ashamed of my illness so I will post it here. I was also instantly better the second I gave birth. Until the postnatal depression at about 12 weeks.

Which reminds me, why suggest postnatal depression occurs in the first 8 weeks? That's not the clinical definition. Why such an arbitrary and inaccurate cut off? I ignored it obviously because it was PND as per the medical definition and I coped by taking up ironing like Mo Farrar approaches long distance running and baking the fuck out of my kitchen.

*clearly not the medical term but the term I prefer for my own illness.

To be fair to the hcps I didn't know I was asking about prenatal depression. I was just asking for help a lot and giving all the symptoms.

Done. I experienced PND with my first DC that then morphed into antenatal depression when I was pregnant with DC2. I managed to get over it by the end of my pregnancy, only to be hit full in the face with PND again. DC2 is 15months now, I'm still not over the depression. I know things have been exacerbated by the fact that I also have borderline personality disorder. The BPD feeds the depression and the depression feeds the BPD. Coupled with the constant fear that I will become as ill as I was when I was a teenager again when I very nearly lost the fight with my mental health. It has been a very long road, and I feel guilty everyday that I'm missing out on the fun of having children.

It is incredibly hard to feel suicidal and have small children. I am so fed up of hearing 'but surely thinking of your children will keep you from doing anything?' Yes it does, sometimes to the point where I have wished that I didn't have children so that I didn't have to live through this anymore. I am not proud of these thoughts, in fact the guilt of having these thoughts exacerbates everything some days.

It feels like a very long and lonely road. I hope some day mental health will be talked about and understood the same way that, say, having a broken leg is now. One day I hope I have the confidence to stand up in front of a school and run an assembly on mental health. To get people talking from an early age and to let everyone know that it's not something to be ashamed of. To let people know that it is not a reason to judge a person, to think they are 'strange' or different. But a reason to look out for people, to be kind, and to acknowledge the struggle they are going through and say 'you are strong to battle this every day, you are doing really well, you can do this. We can do this together'

a suggestion. rather than having a £50 "prize" for the participation.... why not have a donation of a certain amount per entry to a support charity for Pregnancy Related Depression?

I agree crazy, 50£ Prize for spilling your guts is rather off putting.

To everyone who is still going through the wringer, big unMNetty hugs from me! I think you're amazing.

**trigger
HQ, I think there should be a question about

1)psychosexual history, (past trauma/ abuse or not) and

2. whether the baby was conceived using reproductive technology?

I know my own past sexual experiences, and TTC journey had a huge bearing on how I birthed, and how I felt about it later.

Hello

Thanks for all your comments and feedback, as ever. Obviously this is a really difficult topic to address and we were aiming at sensitivity throughout, but please accept our apologies if you think we've missed the mark anywhere.

We take the point about pregnancy/prenatal depression looking like a bit of an afterthought and we're sure you're right to say it's an under-researched area; it's an interesting point and maybe that's something we can look at rectifying further down the line. For now we'll add a further question giving space for further comments from anyone who wants to say more about pregnancy depression.

'Which reminds me, why suggest postnatal depression occurs in the first 8 weeks? That's not the clinical definition.' Many apologies: several (respectable, we thought!) sources we looked at gave six to eight weeks after the birth as being the rough cut-off point, but having checked the NICE definition we see you're completely correct, so we'll update that as well.

Thanks for the other suggestions about other questions: it's always a bit of a trade-off with these things, between being comprehensive and making the survey so long and complex that very few people complete it. But do please keep letting us know if you think particular things really ought to be on there.

Thanks
MNHQ

Done. I am happy to help raise awareness of mental health issues and support research that will help women be better supported.

I ended up on a psych ward after having Ds4, having had three babies before with no issues it was q shock to get so I'll after having him. The first year of his life is a blur. He is 7 now and I had another baby, dd now 4 with no issues. But I am super aware of my mental health, I never want to go back to that place.

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Done and agree that it would be good for more focus (not just in this survey but generally) on prenatal depression.

Can I ask what you will be doing with the responses, are they for any particular research? I work in mental health so am just being nosey really.

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