I visited an old school friend over the weekend and her and her DH explained they are considering having a baby. Normally this would be a time for celebration but even they are being very cautious, and rightly so I feel.
My friend is 30 and has struggled with manic depressive schizophrenia since she was 18. She has come a long way since then and got a degree, holds down a job, got married 2 years ago and hasn't had a relapse/been sectioned for 3 years. She has recently been talking to her psychiatrist who has told her it is possible for her to have children. They have gradually been cutting down her meds (7-1!) which is great news, regardless and I am very proud of her for that alone. I did notice some hesitations in her though, which had all but gone before, and she did say that she has low days. Of course, it is still quite early on so hopefully this will improve.
Her DH, who is really lovely, is partially sighted. His retinas have been detaching and are getting progressively worse. My friend leads him everywhere and has to ensure he knows his surroundings for every situation. If he needs lunch laid out before she leaves him alone at any time, for example, she has to go through everything she has left out for him with it's location (I put the orange juice next to the fridge with a tall glass on the left of the carton, etc). They seem to be managing fairly well, but as you can imagine she is doing the majority of the work and is in most areas, looking after him already.
He is very broody and pushing for a child quite heavily, seemingly without realising the position this will put her in with him not being able to give much support. I hope that doesn't sound nasty, but she has said this herself and her mother is very worried that the stress of looking after him alone, with his eyesight getting so bad that he is now throwing mini tantrums, could push her back into mental illness. My friend is very aware of this and hasn't really had much contact with small babies. She is very concerned and IMO doesn't seem as enthralled by the idea as her DH. She pointed out that our friend couldn't put her child down for more than 10 mins at a lunch party we went to and added that she hadn't realised how much you miss out on having to take care of them so much 
I think what I want to ask is if anyone has any advice? I suggested they babysit for a few hours for a friend, got one of those dolls that cries and wees that docs give teenagers and perhaps get a pet first, for the responsibility aspect to kick in.
If they do go ahead with it, will they get extra support? They barely make it to the end of the month on their combined salaries already and I was hoping I could at least pass on some financial advice.